It's the first full day for summer break for Monster Boy today.
Miss Sunshine and I are full on the throes of some massive allergy attacks.
I need to update about our dentist visit from Monday. But that will wait for another day, because I don't feel like doing it today.
We are hiding inside in the air conditioning this afternoon since two of the three of us are not feeling well. I hate that we've spent the whole day inside, but when you can't breathe, stop sneezing or stop coughing, 90+ degree weather is not where you want to spend your day.
Monster Boy is going camping with his Dad this weekend. I'm nervous - he's never been to the lake without me, and there will be a billion people there since it's a Holiday weekend. But, I don't get a say in whether or not he goes, so I've just gone over and over our safety rules with him and I have to trust that his Dad will watch after him.
We are not doing anything exciting for the holiday - Daddy Mac and I both work this weekend. We will go to our family graves on Monday, to place flowers and such, and then have a small cookout at my grandmothers. That is the extent of our plans for the weekend at this point. So, I'll try to make it back here to give some real updates and posts, before the insanity of classes pick up again.
Sometimes an introspection. Sometimes a vent. Maybe entertaining. Maybe thought provoking. Always my life.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Friday, May 18, 2012
Some good news...
We made it home safe and sound from our Shriner's trip! Miss Sunshine did so well on the plane, I was very proud of her. She did okay in the hotel, but when it came time for bed, she cried and said she wanted to go home. It took some convincing but I did finally manage to get her to sleep. She's a bit of a bed hog, so Mommy didn't get as much sleep, but that's okay!
Wednesday was a LONG day. Team cleft visits always are - we saw 5 doctors (Dentist, Orthodontist, ENT, Plastic Surgeon, and Child Psychologist) in one day, plus a Medical Photographer, Social Worker, Nurse Practitioner, RN, Audiologist and Speech Therapist. And they did dental X Rays for the first time this visit as well. Phew! Miss Sunshine is still a peanut, weighing in at 29 pounds, and 37 inches tall. Long and skinny... just like Daddy. Everyone was astounded by her. They told us she could not be developing and recovering more perfectly! The speech therapist agreed with our local speech team that she no longer needs speech therapy. The child psychologist agreed with the cognitive assessment we had done here (despite Miss Sunshine deciding to talk in baby talk the entire time she was in the room - stinker!), the social worker gave us some paperwork for assistance with dental care down the road, as she will likely need extensive orthodontics, the dentist said her teeth look great and he has no major concerns - just to keep up with twice-yearly visits and keep an eye on her developing underbite. The ENT said her ears look great, she passed her hearing tests with flying colors, and both tubes are still in place and functioning. He even said he feels this may be the last set she needs - he wants us to follow up with our local ENT periodically to check hearing and function of the tubes, but if she loses one, he doesn't want to rush to replace it, he wants to give it a few months and see how she does without it - when they placed this last set, there was no fluid in the left ear at all, and he thinks it's a sign that her palatal muscles are beginning to do their job. All in all, it was a fabulous (if tiring!) visit. And the best news is - they don't need to see her back for TWO years! Yes, we get a two year reprieve from visits unless something major comes up that our local doctors don't feel they can handle. But at this point, she is a totally normal little girl who just happened to have a cleft palate at birth, but her surgery has been deemed a 100% success now that she is two years post-op. I can't being to describe what a huge weight this is that has been lifted off our shoulders. Even though all our local doctors have said she is doing well, you just never know until you get to a team visit - you can think things are going perfectly and then find out that really they aren't. But they are going perfectly this time - and it's just the kind of break we needed!
Wednesday was a LONG day. Team cleft visits always are - we saw 5 doctors (Dentist, Orthodontist, ENT, Plastic Surgeon, and Child Psychologist) in one day, plus a Medical Photographer, Social Worker, Nurse Practitioner, RN, Audiologist and Speech Therapist. And they did dental X Rays for the first time this visit as well. Phew! Miss Sunshine is still a peanut, weighing in at 29 pounds, and 37 inches tall. Long and skinny... just like Daddy. Everyone was astounded by her. They told us she could not be developing and recovering more perfectly! The speech therapist agreed with our local speech team that she no longer needs speech therapy. The child psychologist agreed with the cognitive assessment we had done here (despite Miss Sunshine deciding to talk in baby talk the entire time she was in the room - stinker!), the social worker gave us some paperwork for assistance with dental care down the road, as she will likely need extensive orthodontics, the dentist said her teeth look great and he has no major concerns - just to keep up with twice-yearly visits and keep an eye on her developing underbite. The ENT said her ears look great, she passed her hearing tests with flying colors, and both tubes are still in place and functioning. He even said he feels this may be the last set she needs - he wants us to follow up with our local ENT periodically to check hearing and function of the tubes, but if she loses one, he doesn't want to rush to replace it, he wants to give it a few months and see how she does without it - when they placed this last set, there was no fluid in the left ear at all, and he thinks it's a sign that her palatal muscles are beginning to do their job. All in all, it was a fabulous (if tiring!) visit. And the best news is - they don't need to see her back for TWO years! Yes, we get a two year reprieve from visits unless something major comes up that our local doctors don't feel they can handle. But at this point, she is a totally normal little girl who just happened to have a cleft palate at birth, but her surgery has been deemed a 100% success now that she is two years post-op. I can't being to describe what a huge weight this is that has been lifted off our shoulders. Even though all our local doctors have said she is doing well, you just never know until you get to a team visit - you can think things are going perfectly and then find out that really they aren't. But they are going perfectly this time - and it's just the kind of break we needed!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Preschool.... or not.
We got some disappointing news this week about Miss Sunshine's preschool enrollment. Without going in to a lot of detail, in the end, the school effectively eliminated the three year old preschool class. While I understand the reasons, it does not lessen my disappointment in both the canceling of the class and the way the situation was handled. I am trying to be understanding about the position the administrators have found themselves in, but the truth is, I felt disrespected. And the fact that this was handled via a one page letter, and then at a meeting tonight, AFTER parents called and complained, found out that even the scenario the letter outline (which included a cost increase of more than double) wasn't even accurate due to licensing situations with the daycare they were planning to move the preschool program to, I do think that the situation could not have been handled more poorly had they tried.
We had our reasons for choosing to enroll Miss Sunshine in preschool now. I know that three year old programs are not necessary, or even popular. We did not feel that academically or socially she needed this program. Our reasons for choosing to put her in the program centered around getting her used to the school environment and away from me. Because she is with me, pretty much all the time, or family members, she is rather clingy. Two days a week for a few hours seemed like a good way to transition her to the school environment, as she will have to go to school five days a week for half days next year. Since the preschool option we enrolled her for is no longer available, she will not be attending preschool at all.
Disappointed barely begins to sum up my feelings on the matter, but it's all I've got right now.
We had our reasons for choosing to enroll Miss Sunshine in preschool now. I know that three year old programs are not necessary, or even popular. We did not feel that academically or socially she needed this program. Our reasons for choosing to put her in the program centered around getting her used to the school environment and away from me. Because she is with me, pretty much all the time, or family members, she is rather clingy. Two days a week for a few hours seemed like a good way to transition her to the school environment, as she will have to go to school five days a week for half days next year. Since the preschool option we enrolled her for is no longer available, she will not be attending preschool at all.
Disappointed barely begins to sum up my feelings on the matter, but it's all I've got right now.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Time flies...
I can't believe it's already May! Where did this year go?
We finally heard back from Shriner's last week - and we go there in two weeks! Ack! They had a cancellation for their next clinic, so we had the option of the clinic the second week of May, or waiting until OCTOBER. So, I chose May. It's going to make things a little crazy that week, and necessitate postponing our planned garage sale, but it's what we have to do.
I'm excited and nervous all at once for this visit. In our opinions, Miss Sunshine is doing beyond phenomenal. Her cognitive abilities are through the roof, her speech is fantastic, she passed her last hearing tests with flying colors. On the other hand, we are not the medical professionals. And it's entirely possible that all the things we think are going great are really not. When you are dealing with something like cleft, things can change so rapidly as our children grow. Things like scar tissue causing growth restriction on her palate. We already know that she has a slight underbite, from her dental visits. We know we are in for lots of (expensive) orthodontic work. What we don't know is if, as she grows, the size of her palate will cause issues with speech, etc. It's not something they can predict, they can only take a wait and see approach to it. So every visit is a little tense for us because the truth is we just never know. However, I'm choosing to expect that she'll pass everything with flying colors, as she has for the last year, and that our visit will turn out great, as usual. The stress of traveling with a three year old is really higher on my concern list than anything else right now. Although, we made so many trips up to now that I pretty much have it down to a science. I'll be bringing some pullups as a backup, because even though she is potty trained, travel can be disruptive for a kiddo. But I can pack everything we need into one backpack, with a small backpack for her filled with entertainment items for the flight. We have the travel rack with wheels for her carseat (that's really the most difficult thing to maneuver on our trips) and typically I would put her seat on the plane since she now has her own seats on the flights. I learned from experience last time, however, that the new airline they fly us in on has SMALL planes and it's a massive pain in the neck to lug that thing down those narrow aisles - so we will be gate checking the carseat - and I'll be taking my chances that they won't break the wheels and leaving it strapped to the rack so I'm not holding up people at the gate trying to get it reassembled. This should be interesting, to say the least. I will admit, I'm looking forward to the time when we can travel without a carseat at all, although that's at least 6 years into the future. Oh well, you do what you have to in order to make sure your kids are safe.
We finally heard back from Shriner's last week - and we go there in two weeks! Ack! They had a cancellation for their next clinic, so we had the option of the clinic the second week of May, or waiting until OCTOBER. So, I chose May. It's going to make things a little crazy that week, and necessitate postponing our planned garage sale, but it's what we have to do.
I'm excited and nervous all at once for this visit. In our opinions, Miss Sunshine is doing beyond phenomenal. Her cognitive abilities are through the roof, her speech is fantastic, she passed her last hearing tests with flying colors. On the other hand, we are not the medical professionals. And it's entirely possible that all the things we think are going great are really not. When you are dealing with something like cleft, things can change so rapidly as our children grow. Things like scar tissue causing growth restriction on her palate. We already know that she has a slight underbite, from her dental visits. We know we are in for lots of (expensive) orthodontic work. What we don't know is if, as she grows, the size of her palate will cause issues with speech, etc. It's not something they can predict, they can only take a wait and see approach to it. So every visit is a little tense for us because the truth is we just never know. However, I'm choosing to expect that she'll pass everything with flying colors, as she has for the last year, and that our visit will turn out great, as usual. The stress of traveling with a three year old is really higher on my concern list than anything else right now. Although, we made so many trips up to now that I pretty much have it down to a science. I'll be bringing some pullups as a backup, because even though she is potty trained, travel can be disruptive for a kiddo. But I can pack everything we need into one backpack, with a small backpack for her filled with entertainment items for the flight. We have the travel rack with wheels for her carseat (that's really the most difficult thing to maneuver on our trips) and typically I would put her seat on the plane since she now has her own seats on the flights. I learned from experience last time, however, that the new airline they fly us in on has SMALL planes and it's a massive pain in the neck to lug that thing down those narrow aisles - so we will be gate checking the carseat - and I'll be taking my chances that they won't break the wheels and leaving it strapped to the rack so I'm not holding up people at the gate trying to get it reassembled. This should be interesting, to say the least. I will admit, I'm looking forward to the time when we can travel without a carseat at all, although that's at least 6 years into the future. Oh well, you do what you have to in order to make sure your kids are safe.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Of teeth and other things...
So, Blogger changed their posting format. Bear with me through any technical difficulties we may experience as I try to figure this out!
So, our trip to the dentist was last week. Miss Sunshine did wonderfully well this go round - last time the most she would let them do was look in her mouth. This time, she let them do everything (except xrays). Now that her canines have made their appearances (although they do no seem to have come in fully, or else she has very tiny canines) the dentist was not so concerned with getting xrays and said we would wait until she was a bit older and less fidgety. But her teeth look fabulous.
Monster Boy did not fare so well. We are currently going through what I like to call the "dirty boy" phase - the one where they are allergic to water, it seems. I don't struggle as much to get him to bathe, because he has to use special organic handmade soaps to help control skin issues and he now takes showers on his own, which is apparently a big sign of major adulthood (wink!). But teeth brushing? Yeah. No matter how many times I remind him EVERY morning to brush his teeth (morning routine consists of four things - take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth), half the week he seems to leave the house without doing so. I've told him time and time again the importance of brushing his teeth and how not only does his mouth smell bad when he doesn't, but he'll wind up with cavities. Well. Guess who wound up with cavities? Yep. Three of them. Probably not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things, but for someone who has never had a cavity in their life (yes, you read that correctly!), it is very bothersome to me. Not to mention the whole rabid fear of needles thing he has going on. We go back the middle of May for his fillings, and I am definitely not looking forward to this experience. Sigh. Hopefully it will teach him his lesson about brushing his teeth and we won't have this issue going forward.
Life is moving right along, as usual. I have lots of cute pictures from the weekend and from getting to meet my beautiful nephew for the first time. I have to check with my sister first and make sure she is okay with me posting pictures on here. If not, I do have pictures of my kids, even if you are tired of seeing them! I missed a call from Shriner's today about scheduling Miss Sunshine's appointment, so I will call them back tomorrow and hopefully have an update on that soon. For some reason, these trips are always nerve racking to me, even when I expect good findings. And it's looking likely that Daddy Mac will be the one taking the excursion with her again - and we all saw how well I did with that last time! Only time will tell, but I will keep you posted.
So, our trip to the dentist was last week. Miss Sunshine did wonderfully well this go round - last time the most she would let them do was look in her mouth. This time, she let them do everything (except xrays). Now that her canines have made their appearances (although they do no seem to have come in fully, or else she has very tiny canines) the dentist was not so concerned with getting xrays and said we would wait until she was a bit older and less fidgety. But her teeth look fabulous.
Monster Boy did not fare so well. We are currently going through what I like to call the "dirty boy" phase - the one where they are allergic to water, it seems. I don't struggle as much to get him to bathe, because he has to use special organic handmade soaps to help control skin issues and he now takes showers on his own, which is apparently a big sign of major adulthood (wink!). But teeth brushing? Yeah. No matter how many times I remind him EVERY morning to brush his teeth (morning routine consists of four things - take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth), half the week he seems to leave the house without doing so. I've told him time and time again the importance of brushing his teeth and how not only does his mouth smell bad when he doesn't, but he'll wind up with cavities. Well. Guess who wound up with cavities? Yep. Three of them. Probably not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things, but for someone who has never had a cavity in their life (yes, you read that correctly!), it is very bothersome to me. Not to mention the whole rabid fear of needles thing he has going on. We go back the middle of May for his fillings, and I am definitely not looking forward to this experience. Sigh. Hopefully it will teach him his lesson about brushing his teeth and we won't have this issue going forward.
Life is moving right along, as usual. I have lots of cute pictures from the weekend and from getting to meet my beautiful nephew for the first time. I have to check with my sister first and make sure she is okay with me posting pictures on here. If not, I do have pictures of my kids, even if you are tired of seeing them! I missed a call from Shriner's today about scheduling Miss Sunshine's appointment, so I will call them back tomorrow and hopefully have an update on that soon. For some reason, these trips are always nerve racking to me, even when I expect good findings. And it's looking likely that Daddy Mac will be the one taking the excursion with her again - and we all saw how well I did with that last time! Only time will tell, but I will keep you posted.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
We survived a tornado...
That sounds kind of dramatic. Given the fact that the damage to our home is minimal, and our neighborhood fared very well, it seems crazy to say we survived a tornado. But it's the truth. I believe by the time it got to us it was actually no longer on the ground, because it was half a mile wide (at a minimum), so the fact that we have minimal damage just doesn't seem possible. So, here are some photos for you guys of our area.
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| The Tornado as it first enters the city. I did not take this photo, this is actually a screenshot from video shot by a storm chaser. I am not sure where it originated, so I can't properly credit it, but want to make it clear I didn't take it, and am not claiming it as my own property |
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| Damage about one and half blocks from our house - hardest hit area in our neighborhood. |
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| Damage to the park located right next to our neighborhood. This is directly across the street from the previous picture, and is also less than a mile from our house. |
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| Look closely, that tree is completely uprooted. This is about half a block from our house. |
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Damage to the gas station located at the nearest major intersection to us. You can see them working on one of the three power lines that were taken out.
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| Our back porch the day after, before clean up. That is our gas grill in the background. |
Our gas grill, completely blown over. This doesn't seem that impressive, but considering it's gone through 70-80 MPH straight line winds and hasn't moved an inch, something big got a hold of it.
(Sorry, Blogger decided it would not let me caption that last photo, no matter how hard I tried!)
I would have a taken pictures of the damage in our front yard, which mostly consisted of large branches belonging to trees that are not ours all over the yard and porch, but our fantastic neighbors cleaned all that up for us while we were taking our food to a working fridge. We are without power and they are estimating 1-2 days before we get power back in our neighborhood. We have one or two shingles missing off our roof, so we will call insurance and have them come inspect it to make sure that there is not additional damage we are not seeing, or don't know to look for. Hopefully there is nothing.
We are incredibly thankful that we came through this as unscathed as we did. We were hunkered down in our basement, as protected as we could make ourselves. When it got to the point that the tornado was headed for us we put the dog in her kennel, pulled Miss Sunshine in with us (she was not pleased, and wanted to go to bed in her bed - upstairs) (Monster Boy was at his dad's house on the other side of town, out of the path of the tornado, thankfully) and covered up with cushions and watched as much as we could until the power went out. Shortly after the power went out, we heard lots of loud hail and rain, and then sudden silence. Daddy Mac and I looked at each other, and right at that moment heard a loud WHOOSH. A lot of people talk about it sounding like a train, but that is not what we heard, but we definitely heard it. It was probably one of the scariest experiences of my life, but we survived.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Easter 2012
Just a quick post to say hi and share some pictures! I'll get to updates later this week after I HOPEFULLY hear back from Shriner's regarding Miss Sunshine's next visit.
But for now, I leave you with my rather pitiful attempts at getting good photos of my children. What is it about kids that dictates that you cannot have all your children looking cute/pretty/not totally ridiculous all at the same time? These are some quick shots with my phone - I haven't uploaded the pics I took with my camera yet, so I will post those later - I did get better shots with the camera, I think.
But for now, I leave you with my rather pitiful attempts at getting good photos of my children. What is it about kids that dictates that you cannot have all your children looking cute/pretty/not totally ridiculous all at the same time? These are some quick shots with my phone - I haven't uploaded the pics I took with my camera yet, so I will post those later - I did get better shots with the camera, I think.
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| Miss Sunshine is starting to get into the silly face stage... This is now what "Cheese!" looks like. |
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| I managed to snap this one prior to any smiles - right after telling Monster Boy to sit up straight because he kept slouching over. |
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| This one would be adorable if Miss Sunshine didn't have that crazy look on her face... |
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| Our pretty Easter eggs - Tie Dyed and glittery - because that's how we roll... |
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