Saturday, September 26, 2009

Improving

Hubby took Mess 2 to Children's a few days ago to see the ophthalmologist for her six month checkup. It was a long appointment for them since they dilated her eyes and did a number of tests. Plus my poor girl was very sick; she and I had been in the ER the night before because she was having such a hard time breathing (thankfully her O2 levels were good), so she was low on sleep.

But the good news is her eyes are improving and the odds of her vision correcting by the time she is a tween/teen keep getting better. We also found out the lazy eye part is not due to weak muscles (so not patching her was the right thing to do), but a result of her trying so hard to focus. Her vision is still as bad as mine is so I have some idea of what it's like for her without her glasses, and I can see how she'd go cross eyed trying to focus. I don't even try, it just gives me a headache.

So the optometrist here in town is getting her new glasses, which is good since her old ones aren't working well at all. They are way too small, and the earpieces broke during the move (yes eight weeks ago). They were replaced once with earpieces from a pair that didn't quite match or fit, but one broke again within a week. We tried various types of tape, but then finally gave up and let the half earpiece do its best. They really are pretty pathetic.

Once we get the new ones in I'll post pictures, both of her current pitiful pair, and her fun new, purple, pair.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Road Trippin'

Mess 1 and I went on our first long road trip together a few weeks ago. My grandfather (Pepaw) had just come home after a stay in the hospital and a rehab center, so we went to help out for a few days while my father was out of town.

Mess 1 was a real trooper, handling the two 10 hour days in the car like the seasoned traveler he is. Of course, getting to watch movies for the whole trip helps. :0)

It was a fun trip, with some very memorable moments:

  • My boy did get tired of the movies toward the end of each day, so I'd start the praise and worship playlist on my iPod. Whenever Toby Mac's "Lose My Soul" would start he would perk up, and then he'd ask me to play it again and again. He loves that song, and I love listening to him sing "I don't wanna gain the whole world and lose my soooouuuul."
  • We also heard Audio A's "Big House." I don't think he's ever heard it, but he perked up when they mentioned football, so we listened to it a few times. Days later he asked for the "Big song." And then proceeded to sing most of the chorus. The child's memory for music continues to amaze me.
  • At one point, after asking him repeatedly to be quiet for a few minutes so I could deal with the traffic, I finally had to call his name in my mean mama voice. His response: "Aw man!" but then he was quiet. It was too funny.
  • While Mess 1 was talking to Hubby on the phone, Hubby handed the phone to Mess 2. My sweet boy said "Hey sweetie-girl." I hope he calls her that forever.
  • Two days later while talking to Hubby he said "Can I talk to my sister?" I hope he always wants to talk to her.
  • Mess 1 fed Pepaw popcorn while they read the Sunday comics
  • Pepaw was sitting in the recliner with his feet up at one point when he wasn't feeling well, and Mess 1 kept walking over to him and patting his arm and asking "Are you OK, Pepaw?"
  • Mess 1 told both the PT and OT that came to my grandparent's house "That's not Mr. John, that's Pepaw!"
  • We stayed with some friends the last night of our trip to help break up the drive home, and he shared the bed with me. I accidentally woke him up at 2:30 in the morning trying to get him to stop digging his knees into the middle of my back; he then chatted to me about who knows what until almost 5. I did at least get one nice hug/"I love you, Mom" out of it, but man the drive home was rough
  • And just for the record, the boy watched Aladdin five times, Mickey's Three Musketeers six times, and Monsters Inc. twice. I tried to tell him I had other movies (at least 10), but he wasn't interested.

I can't wait to see what future car trips hold...