Seeing The World Through New Eyes....

Finally some peace... I started this post earlier today, but I wasn't able to get anything written--too many fights to break up today... Little A and D spent most of the day picking on one another. Big A spent a good portion of the day whining about one thing or another. And I spent most of my day trying to keep from pulling my hair out.

Theresa went back to Miami today. D was very upset about her going. He cried and cried when she left. I felt so bad. It is hard to explain to him that she lives there, and she will be back to visit.

Around lunch time, we went to pick up D's new glasses! He really likes them. They are an extremely strong prescription, and the optometrist warned me that they may make him dizzy and nauseous today, but they didn't seem to bother him at all. I kept asking him if he had a headache, but he said "no". At first, he just kept looking around at everything, saying "wow!" I looked through his lenses and saw nothing but a big blur... He seemed to really like them. He was very careful not to knock them around, and he carefully placed them in the blue case they gave him when he went to bed. He looks very cute in them--very handsome...

Showing Off The T-shirts Nana Brought Back From

Amish Country

D Shows Off His New Glasses


Very Proud!!!!

The Doctor Blues....

Poor Little D.... This week has been nothing but doctor appointments for him. Monday we spent 3 1/2 hours waiting at neurologist's office. Only to find out the the neurologist had called in sick and the staff was going to have us see a nurse (not even a nurse practitioner). I said no way was I going to pay for a consult with a neurologist and not get to even talk to a neurologist...so we left. A big waste of time!!! Luckily, I called a different neurology practice and got an appointment for Wednesday. Tuesday D went for his orthopedics appointment. The orthopedist is very nice. He wants to start D off on an AFO and knee stabilizer at night only. If that doesn't improve the tension of his Achilles tendon, he may have to wear an AFO during the day. We also talked about Botox injections and surgery for the future, but we will try the first AFO for a few months first. Unfortunately, my insurance deductible had not been met, so I had to pay for the $470.00 AFO out of pocket!! Yikes. I was hoping that they would bill me, but no such luck....

Wednesday was even worse for D, he went to the ophthalmologist at 9:15 am--had his eyes dilated and got a prescription for very thick glasses. The ophthalmologist said he is extremely near-sighted, but has good retinas and optic nerves--preemies often have issues with retinopathies but he doesn't. The bad news is that, because he is so nearsighted, the glasses may actually make his crossed eye worse. She wants to recheck him in 6 weeks and begin patching his eye at that time. She said that she thought he would end up having to have surgery to correct the eye, but we would try patching first. I really hope to avoid surgery-- it makes me nervous. Then, at 11:30 am he had his physical with his pediatrician-- he got 4 shots!!! Poor boy! Later at 3:00 pm, we went to the neurologist for a consult--basically all the neurologist said was the yes, D has Cerebral Palsy-- very mild, with no cognitive dysfunction expected. He suspects that it was actually an inutero stroke that caused his CP, and, of course, wants to do an MRI to localize the lesion. I may have to put that test off until later in the year... It is not going to change the course of therapy and is only necessary from an academic perspective....

Anyway, today his legs are sore and he is not in the best mood. Unfortunately he had to come to work with me today.... Needless to say, I am counting the hours until quitting time....

Adventures In Myrtle Beach....

Last week the kids and I went to the beach! Myrtle Beach to be exact. There was a Veterinary Conference there, so it was a good way to kill two birds with one stone... vacation and CE. My Mom met us there. She helped me by babysitting while I was at the classes. I think the children really wore her out---especially Little A and D... They weren't exactly on their best behavior... In fact all three of my darling children were, at times, very disobedient. I was not happy about their behavior-- they seem to always just go completely wild when we go on vacation. It is never much of a vacation for the adults! :) But they seemed to have a really good time. D really took to "Nana Babushka" (that's what he calls her). He is still asking where she is, and we've been home since Sunday.

Big A was pretty disappointed that we only spent a week at the beach. Last year we stayed for 2 weeks.. But since I just put myself into deep debt by travelling to Russia twice in the last 4 months, I couldn't afford to take another 2 week vacation. Maybe we'll go to Tybee island for a weekend later in the summer... who knows.

I did have fun though. It's always nice to get away from Atlanta... Every time I go to the beach, I get the itch to leave Atlanta. Maybe move to some small coastal town and open some little vet clinic and just enjoy life a little... Maybe someday.


Below are some photos from our adventures in Myrtle Beach....

Big A Posing With Her Boogie Board


Playing In Sand...

Little A Tries To Shot Mommy

Little Surfer Boy

Building A Canal

Just Chillin' And Watching The Waves

Ready To Battle More Waves

Playing Putt Putt

This Is The Way Little A And D Play...

Three Pirates!!! Arrrgh!!!

Pinwheels Are Always Fun!!!

D Thinks So, Too...

A Night At Family Kingdom

D And Little A Found A Hole

My Handsome Boy

My Pretty Baby Girl

My Pretty Big Girl

Sittin' On The Pier

Our Tent...

It Really Pissed The Lifeguard Off :)

Watching The Tide Come In

Wipe Out!!!

The Beach Party

(unfortunately, due to rain, it was an indoor beach party)

Pretty Lame, But The Kids Loved It!!

D And Big A Dancing A Slow Dance!!!

My Three Babies...

Our Last Day...

Don't They Look Sweet...

(Don't Let Them Fool You)

Goodbye Beach!!!

Waiting For A Wave...

Big A Takes One Last Swim...

Painting Little A's Toenails With Sand

One Last Seafood Buffet Before The Ride Home....

Broccoli Blues...

Learning a new language is not an easy task... at least for me. D seems to be doing very well learning his new language. But even he has a difficult time every now and then... Last night we were having dinner--pierogies, broccoli, and turkey (for the kids, not me :) ). D finished all his food--after much coaxing, of course. Then suddenly, with much enthusiasm, he began pointing to his plate and saying "broccoli, broccoli!!!" I said (in disbelief), "You want more broccoli?" "Da da da!!", he said with a smile. I was more than happy to fill his plate with more broccoli (he's not much of a vegetable eater). When he saw his plate full of broccoli, his face fell.... "No no!" he said in frustration. That was when I realized that he had meant to ask for more Turkey... he just got the word wrong. So much for my hopes that he would become a vegetarian... :)

My Littlest Ballerina....

The last few days have been busy. I've been trying to get as much work in as I can before Theresa leaves to go back to Miami. I am sure I'll have to cut back back quite a bit when she leaves, as I will have to take "D" along with me. Although I did take him to work with me last Thursday and he actually did very well. Tomorrow he will be tagging along with me again-- we'll see how it goes...

Yesterday was a big day for Little A--she started dance classes at school!!! Previously, the dance class was only offered to children 3 and up, but Ms. Ruth, the dance teacher offered it to children 2 1/2 and up this summer. So I signed her up (along with Big A, of course). She did very well! She payed close attention to her teacher and tried to follow all the moves precisely. Now I have two little ballerinas in the family!!! She is the youngest in the class--she's so cute. :) Below are some photos:

Little A Sat By Ms. Ruth

My Littlest Ballerina!!

Waving The Streamers...


Big A Doing "The Bicycle"

Following Ms. Ruth's Lead..

So Serious...

Little A, Watching Her Sister Dance

Yesterday was also a first for D... He had his first dental appointment. I took him, because he had gotten a toothache last week.. It only lasted a day, but I could see that his left lower molar had a huge crack or cavity. The dentist's office was packed, and it took over an hour for us to be seen. They x-rayed his painful tooth and found that he has very large cavities on two of his teeth back there. Since I don't have dental insurance, I asked for an estimate for the repair, cleaning, and x-rays of his other teeth---the grand total was $1,525!!! Yikes!!! Imagine what it will cost if they discover any other cavities when they x-ray the rest of his teeth!! I guess I am going to have to look into dental insurance pretty quickly.... Today was Big A's turn at the dentist. Fortunately, she had no cavities. Little A's turn is in 2 weeks-- hopefully she will check out well. I can't afford another kid with bad teeth!!

Tonight Big A had another game. I was at work, so Theresa took the kids for me. I missed about half of the game, due to traffic, of course. But the team looked like they were playing really well. I don't thin they keep score, but I think we won! :)

D's Blue Moustache!!!

Getting Ready To Run Home

D And His Shadow/Nemesis...

T- Ball And Attempts At Privacy....

Big A had her first T-ball game yesterday. She is on Kansas City Royals this season. We started the morning off with a parade--each team loaded up in a truck and paraded through Oakhurst. D and I got to ride in the truck with the team. Big A was very excited- so was D. Then the opening ceremonies took place followed by free hot dogs and chips. Free food for the kids always makes me excited. :) Her game wasn't until 1:00 pm, so the kids played in the park for about an hour before the game. I have to say that it was a terrible time to have a little league game-- the heat was stifling. When I got back to the van the thermometer was reading 99 F. Ridiculous to have kids playing in heat like that. The rest of the games will be in the evenings--hopefully it won't be so hot next time.

Big A--Getting Ready For The Parade

Showing Team Spirit!!!

D shows His Spirit Too!!!


Even Little A Waved Her Pennant!!!

Go Royals!!!

Arriving At The Ball Park

Enjoying Their Hot Dogs!!!

MMM....

Big A In The Dugout...

Big A-- Up To Bat

Big A played very well. She got a hit every time she was up to bat, and she stopped the ball well while out in the field. She still runs like she's in slow motion, though... I don't know how to get her to make some effort in that area. Despite the heat, I think Big A had a good time. Even though she whined a lot about being tired... nothing new there. D really wanted to get out there and play. Since the team is short a few players, I am going to call the Rec Center on Monday to see if I can sign him up to play. Hell, he may be able to run faster than Big A... even with his bad leg! :)

Big A Plays 3rd Base...

Yesterday, Big A got fed up with her sister and brother getting in her bed and "messing up my stuff!" So she made a sign for her bed...KEEP OUT!!! Since the children can't read, she included a diagram to let them know what is meant by the sign...

Big A And Her Sign...

Safe In Her Bed!!!

Big A's Sign!!!

We'll See If It Works...

The rest of Saturday afternoon was spent swimming in the pool out back... I have three little water babies... I'm sure today will be more of the same...