To Hannah on her Birthday

My sweet Hannah Jane,
Today you are three years old.  Where has the time gone?  It seems like only yesterday you were resisting making an entrance into the world, forcing us to go "through the back door" to get you out.  That c-section was the best decision I ever made, but I have to admit...I was a little nervous when I heard the volume of your little voice.  I remember thinking, "wow, she's pissed!"  And I was right.  Leaving the womb was not your idea and the way you cling to me even now, it seems you're still fighting to get back in there!
You are intense and brilliant and funny and charming...You capture the hearts of everyone you meet with that gorgeous, out-of-control, strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes.  It seems like your vocabulary skills have exploded overnight as you now speak so clearly and in complete sentences.  The things that come out of your mouth never cease to amaze me.  I love that today, when the A/C came on in the car (and I suppose you got cold), so you got excited that it might snow.  Nevermind that its 90+ degrees outside.  You want snow, so you look for any sign of it and keep on hoping.

I love that you ask "why?" about absolutely everything.  I love how much you adore The Princess and the Frog and insist on watching it every morning as soon as you wake up.  I love how you insist upon having Toy Story band-aids available at all times (especially those with Jessie and Bullseye on them).  I love how its so obvious that you're a little nervous when you meet someone new.  (I know you're nervous because you smile with your mouth closed and start blinking a lot.)  I love how much you adore your big brother and I love the funny way you say his name.  I love the way you enjoy having so many pets to love.  (Yeah, I know we need to find homes for the kittens, but the joy on your face is so worth keeping them around.)
Baby girl, keep on being who you are.  I know we get overwhelmed a lot when we don't quite know what you want, but you are our little angel, our baby girl, and your daddy and I love you more than we can say.  Forgive us when we mess up.  Try to remember that we do what we do because we love you and want what's best for you.  Happy birthday, princess!

Bad Mommy Confession #2,486

This could be a reeeeally long post with all the stuff I've done to mess up/drop the ball/inevitably send my kids to therapy, but today I'm focusing on just one of these "bad mommy moments."

Today, Andrew will have his first ever dental appointment. Yep.  First.ever.  How old is he?  Yeah, well he's FIVE years old.  I know!  Kids are "supposed" to go to the dentist after they get their first tooth.  Well, that happened when he was four months old, so...yep, pretty much exactly five years ago.  I have no excuse.  I have no idea why I have waited so long.  I guess we just stayed busy (ha!  doesn't everyone?) and it was one of those things that slipped through the cracks. 

You'd think that, given my personal dental history, I would know better.  I honestly believe I have a filling in every tooth that is able to be filled.  Cavities galore, people.  Part of its heredity, part of its laziness (and hatred of dental floss), but I really do want better for my kids...so WHY did I do this??

Funny thing is...The only reason he's going now (despite the hundreds of times when I've said to Chris, "man, we really need to get these kiddos to the dentist!") is that our state requires a dental exam for all kids who register for Kindergarten.  Since he's headed to school in August, guess where we are headed?  Yep.

What's gonna be so fun about this is that my boy is not fond of people messing with him in any way.  He cries all the way through hair cuts, nail trims (well, those are more like full-on wrestling matches), etc.  I can't imagine what its going to be like having a dentist look around in his mouth, trying to get x-rays and clean those little chiclet teeth.  I have advised the dentist that he might want to have some kid-friendly sedation on hand.

Oh, and I went ahead and made an appointment for Hannah.  She goes tomorrow.

Change of Plans!

I should know better by now.  I should *totally* know better than to make plans and assume things will happen as they were planned.  I'm a mom.  I'm a teacher (a special ed teacher, no less).  I should always be expecting the unexpected.

See, today the kids were supposed to go off to visit Mamaw & Papaw (Chris' mom and stepdad) in Alabama for a few days.  Chris and I were going to have FOUR completely kid-free days (four and a half if you count the half day spent driving to meet halfway to pick them up)!  We had plans to get the downstairs of our house all cleaned up and organized since there would be no distractions.  I was so excited and hopeful that maybe by the time they got home, the house would be ready for Chris & Hannah's joint b-day party a week from Saturday.

I should have known.

See, a couple of days ago, Mamaw broke her tooth.  The tooth had to be cut out and she is in a lot of pain.  They couldn't pick up the kids to take them back to Alabama. 

I have to admit...When I got this news, I fell apart.  Its ridiculous!  I mean, its not like she planned this or purposely hurt herself to avoid taking my kiddos for a few days, but the logical part of my brain was not in control when I heard this and pure disappointment took over.  I cried.  Sheesh. 

Turns out, we had a fantastic day despite the change in plans.  The kids were disappointed, of course, since they were so very excited to see Mamaw & Papaw, but they are resilient and go with the flow like a couple of champs.  We decided to go up to Stone Mountain and visit over lunch with Chris' best friend.  Afterwards, we went by some other friends' home where they gave us a new (to us) toddler bed for Hannah!  What a blessing.  Hannah had been spending more time trying to climb out and shake her crib apart than actually sleeping in it.

Yes, I know...she is almost three years old so OF COURSE she needs to be in a toddler bed.  Hey, what can I say?  I like having her "contained" and safe.  It was working, so I didn't want to mess with it.  Until it stopped working.  Now, she has this adorable dollhouse toddler bed and she loves it.  I'm not sure if she will actually sleep in it tonight, but we will sure hope and pray that she does!

All in all, today was pretty darn fabulous.  And the best news?  Mamaw called and she's feeling better!  Looks like we *might* be in for a few days of alone time after all!  If so, that's great.  If not...hey, whatever! I have learned my lesson.

Coming Up for Air

Whew!  Its been a whirlwind summer already...I haven't had too much time for fun and relaxation since we've been working on the house, but we are definitely making progress!  Our room is finally getting put back together (I can see the floor now!) since we bought a new bookshelf and organized the books by author/subject/etc.  It looks really good.  We also moved Chris' desk for his online business upstairs to the "sitting room" area in our master bedroom so he can get his stuff out of the dining room. Most pretty much all of his stock is still in the dining room, but the plan is for it to be moved SOON.  Hopefully by the end of the weekend.  I can't wait to get my dining room back.  I am dying to get in there to sweep/mop/dust and get it back in order and actually resembling some sort of family dining area.
I have had two chances to get out and have a bit of fun.  Tuesday night was Bunco night, which is always completely awesome.  If you don't know how to play Bunco, its basically a dice game in which your goal is to roll three numbers that are the same (depending on the round).  You have to have 12 players, and in our case, its basically a really good excuse to get together and just let loose.  Its ridiculous how much fun we have.  I always come home feeling so much better and less stressed after talking and laughing and just relaxing for the night.
The other opportunity to get out of the house came yesterday.  I had the kids with me so it wasn't as relaxing as it could've been, but it was still fun.  We went to a friend's pool to go swimming and, while the kids love the water and are physically able to swim and splash on their own (with their floaties), they refuse to actually do it.  I had to be with them in the pool the entire time, and Hannah ended up being super-clingy...probably because there was about 20 people there that she didn't know and was kinda freaking out.  Sure, it would have been a bit more fun for me if I could have just laid around and chatted with my friends, but it was fun seeing my kiddos enjoy the pool.  We ended up going to Wal-Mart and buying a bigger pool for the kids and us to enjoy in our own backyard.  It has a filter and everything!  Hey, we're movin' on up, folks!
Today we are going to just enjoy a quiet day at home, playing in our new pool and continuing our work on the house.  Hannah's birthday is coming up (and Chris' as well), and we want the house to be in tiptop shape for the party we're planning on throwing!  The kids are going away for a few days next week to visit Chris' mom and stepdad in Alabama, so I'm betting those few days will be when we'll get most of the work done.  Believe me, we will definitely sleep in and go out and just enjoy being alone together, but it'll be a productive time as well.  Plus, a little time away from the kids will help us remember how very much we love them, so it'll be good for everyone!
So that's what's up in my world...how about you?

Eyes & Ears

So earlier last week I posted about Andrew's difficulties getting past the eye, ear and dental exams required for enrollment in Kindergarten.  He failed two hearing tests, completed a round of antibiotics, and now has an appt for July 13 (4-6 weeks after the antibiotics) to take yet another hearing test.  If he fails this one, we have to get a referral to an ENT to discuss tubes to help improve his hearing.  Sigh.

The kids' eye chart

Today we had our (first) eye appointment.  I was thinking it would be interesting, but no big deal and we'd likely have to get him some glasses and be on our way.  Umm...NO.  Apparently Andrew has very little vision in his right eye.  His left eye is perfect and obviously compensates for his weak right eye.  We realized this when the doc made him cover his left eye and try to read the picture eye chart with only his right eye.  He did GREAT with his right eye covered...he recognized the cowboy, cake, hand, bird, house, etc just fine.  With his left eye covered, however, he could only see the very top picture (a big airplane).  :(

I feel so guilty!  I feel like I somehow should have known that he was having issues seeing out of that eye.  Its ridiculous, really, because how would I have known?  When we read together or look at books/magazines and watch TV, he's not that far away and not really being asked to recite what he's seeing.  I can't help it, though.  I feel like I've let him down.  Same with the hearing!  I guess I should be grateful that our school system makes us get these checkups before starting school, though, because how in the world would I have known?  I shudder to think that these issues could have gotten much worse by simply not knowing they're even there.  At least we can get it taken care of NOW while he's still young.  I would appreciate any prayers or positive thoughts!  This whole ordeal has been stressful and worrisome for both me and Chris!