Watching Grass Grow

I had my eye surgery done almost 5 weeks ago and I still cannot see clearly.  I have been super frustrated.  My body is just being slow to heal.  The cornea looks good, so it is just a matter of time until the tissue in front of the cornea heals.  The last week or so I have been more active mainly because I have figured out how to work around the blurry vision.  The doctor said that my vision in the right eye is 20/25 but the tissue in front of the cornea makes the vision hazy.  If you have ever put on a pair of sunglasses after a little kid with sticky fingers has played with them (leaving smudgy fingerprints on the lenses) then you know how my vision is right now.  I hope that this opinion changes, but right now I am deeply regretting having done the surgery. 

The last day of school before the kids went off-track, Seth's class planted grass in a cup.  I have been watching the grass grow- literally!  It got long enough to put some of Jane's hair clips in it.  Seth had a lot of fun watching Mr. Grassman! 

This off-track session was the last one I had with all of my kids.  I am upset that I wasn't able to do all of the things we had planned.  We still did a few things though, thanks to my parents, Uncle Nathan,  and Madeleine for being the drivers!  

We went to Hale Center Theater for a back stage tour.  It was amazing to see all of the work that goes on to put a play together.  We got to go down in the mechanical room to see the stage.  Hale Center is a theater in the round, so there isn't really a back stage.  The stage can rotate and move up and down, so we were under the stage looking at all of the equipment it uses to operate the stage.  We had a great time with my parents and Madeleine! 

The last week off-track was pretty busy for the boys.  Their Uncle Nathan came and took them swimming and out to dinner on Monday. 

Wednesday my parents took us to Thanksgiving Point to the farm. The kids got to ride on the ponies and enjoyed it.  Jane giggled almost the entire time!     

My Mom and Dad (Isn't my dad so cute?)

Friday Madeleine took us to Kennecott Copper Mines. Madeleine was so cute!  She put little toys on each of the seats for the kids to play with on the way there.  Then while we were viewing the mine, she put little treats out for each of us to discover when we got back in the car.  The kids got PEZ and I got a bag of cinnamon bears!  She is so sweet!  (She is going to make an awesome grandma!  Her daughter is due with a baby girl in August!)
It was a stormy day, but the rain and clouds cleared up in time for us to visit. 

Mark, Madeleine, Paul, Seth and Jane (who wanted nothing to do with posing for a picture!)

Mark, Paul, Seth, Jane, and Yours Truly!

Mark and Jane

Madeleine and Seth

Friday Daniel and I went to SLC to the Assembly Hall on Temple Square to see his cello teacher perform in the string quartet that she is part of.

It was great to finally get out and do things.  The first few weeks traveling was difficult because not being able to see clearly really made me carsick.  I still can't see clearly, but the vision had definitely improved over the last few weeks. 

Happy Birthday Jane!

Dear Jane,

Two years ago today Dad and I drove through a spring snowstorm to get to the hospital for your delivery.  I remember watching large snowflakes drift down from the heavens while in I was in labor with you.  That snowstorm was an unexpected delight.  You, my dear, are the unexpected delight of our family.  I am so happy to have you in my life.  Don't tell anyone else, but you are my favorite daughter!  You have added a whirlwind of excitement to my life and I am so glad that I was blessed to be your mother.

I have to admit that sometimes I am a bit jealous of how much your Dad loves you.  The two of you have an awesome bond.  I love to see your eyes light up when he enters the room and listen to you yell out "Daddy!". 

 

I love how expressive you are.  Your little face tells so many stories!  I'm sure that you have told me many stories but I just don't understand everything that you say.  Even though I don't understand you, I LOVE listening to you talk!  (You talk a lot)

You are one smart girl.  I have been amazed at how much you understand at such a young age.  You love routines and patterns.  You love to read books (you are definitely part of the right family for that!). 

I love how you can get anyone who comes over to visit to read you a book.  We have read these little books to you hundreds of times.  We will read them to you hundreds more, I'm sure.

Dad and Jane

Uncle Ben and Jane

Uncle Jared and Jane

You have quite the fun personality and attitude.  I love playing with you at the park.  You are full of adventure and joy.  I am amazed that you have figured out how to climb the ladder at the neighborhood park.  You aren't afraid of any of the slides. 

You are a wonderful companion in the kitchen.  It is fun to see you imitate the things that I do while making dinner.  It is fun to see you pull out an apron and beg me to help you put it on.  It is fun to watch you cut up apple slices and devour them.

Jane, you are such a sweet girl.  Over the past few months, I have noticed how caring and nurturing you are.  You feed your babies, put them to bed, and read them books.  After my eye surgery, you helped wipe my eyes with a tissue and gave me a hug.  When I was resting on the couch, you brought a blanket from your bed and put it on me.  Thank you for taking care of me!

You have made me a better person.  Being a mother is a tricky job.  You can thank your brothers for helping me be more patient with you than I was with them.  Being the youngest really does have great perks!  I can't tell you enough how much you have added to my life.  You have give me reasons to smile when I didn't feel like smiling.  Thank you for being my daughter.  

Jane and Mom (on Jane's 1st birthday)

I love how you admire your brothers.  You love to be with them and you try your best to keep up with them. I have a feeling that you are everyone's favorite sister!  You are so cute with Seth.  He is your buddy and I love to watch you interact with him.    I have always loved and admired my big brother, Randy.  You and Seth are about five years apart from each other, like Randy and me.  Seth can be your best protector and friend as the years go on. Please don't be afraid to let Seth take that roll in your life! 

My dear love bug, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday!  I love you!

Happy Birthday Mark!



I have been hard pressed to find a picture of Mark where he isn't giving me a silly face. This is a rare shot of him being 'normal'! 

 

Today Mark turns 12 years old.  Since he has been alive for a dozen years, I decided to give him one dozen birthday presents.  The big ticket item was a bike.  (The other gifts were Frosted Flakes, mechanical pencils, water guns, 12 $1 bills, a mini soccer ball, a water ball, corn puffs, Pringles, rootbeer popsicles, water bottles and some Funyons.)  His bike is as big as my bike, which shocked me at first, until I realized that since Mark is as tall as me (I still have 1/2 inch on him!) that he would need a bigger bike.  It makes since, but I am having a difficult time watching him grow up so fast.  Paul got Mark's old bike since his bike is having issues with the chain falling off all of the time and the boys were able to ride their bikes to school today.  Mark was bummed that he had to go back to school from being off-track on his birthday, but riding a new bike to school helped ease the pain (and so will a dinner from Cafe Rio!).  Since I (still) can't drive yet and the street in front of the school is under construction, Daniel isn't too excited about driving in the chaos, so riding bikes is the best solution for all of us! 

Last Saturday we had a birthday party for Mark.  Ethan thought that the party was last week, so he was relieved to come on the day of the actual party!  (When his mom dropped him off last week, I didn't realize that he had a gift with him.  When he asked me where to put the gift, I told him that the party wasn't until the next Saturday.  He stood there and said "Awkward- this is really awkward!" Poor kid!)

We ordered a 26 inch pizza- it was huge!  The pizza place didn't slice it into wedges like I requested, but the kids had a fun time eating the weird little squares (which is how they normally cut the large pizzas) They made a pretty good dent in the pizza.  I think that in a few years I will need to order two of these to keep everyone happy. 

Jane, Mitchel, Ryan, Mark, Mikey, Seth, Paul, Ethan

Ryan, Mark and Mikey

The boys played ball games outside while we waited for the pizza to arrive.



My cute little birthday boy

After dinner, the boys played Q-tip war.  They each had a hand ful of Q-tips (from the dollar store) and a straw.  They would load the Q-tip into the straw and blow it out.  We moved furniture around so they had 'bunkers'.  I'd say that this was a successful game because they played it for nearly one hour!

Mark giving Mikey tips to blow the 'ammo' really far

Seth waiting to attack people at the bottom of the stairs

Ryan said that he was "playing dirty" - he would stick the Q-tip in his ear and then shoot it!  Boys! 

 Happy birthday Mark! 

Meet Alot

I came across this article today and wanted to share it. (The font size on my computer is so large right now that I have to scroll left to right to read most blogs) (You can enlarge or reduce the font size by simply pressing Control and scrolling with your mouse!) It made me smile a lot!  Please enjoy- and be friendly to all of the alots that you see today!
 http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

This Week Has Been A Blur- Literally

A week ago Tuesday, I went to the eye doctor for an exam in preparation for LASIK surgery the following Friday.  My eyes were dilated and I spent the entire day trying to keep a migraine from coming on.  Getting my eyes dilated is a miserable experience for me because I tend to get monster migraines after getting one.  I have been able to talk my previous doctors into not getting the dilation done, but seeing as how I was going in for surgery, it was necessary to do a full exam.  Anyhow, I spent all day Tuesday not being able to see clearly (my vision came back around 9:30 that night) and then then next day I was in what we call the migraine hangover at our house.  I was okay, but felt out of it and a bit loopy.  (That is, loopier than normal, just to clarify.) 

Thursday I had good vision and then Friday morning I went in for the surgery.  I didn't qualify for LASIK because of an abnormality on my cornea, but I was a good candidate for the PRK surgery.  I didn't do much research on PRK once I found out that it was what I was having, mainly because I only had one good day of vision, and I was afraid of finding a website that tells horror stories about people who had their eyes turn into cesspools and their eyeballs exploded because of PRK.  I was nervous about the procedure, but had complete confidence in my surgeon, so it was an ixnay on the esearchray.

LASIK and PRK are very similar, but the recovery time for PRK is a lot longer because it is more invasive.  I didn't really understand what that meant, but I do now.  They sent me home with 3 eye drop medicines and prescriptions for pain relief and  sleeping pills (they don't do that for LASIK patients because it isn't as painful)  I took one of the pain pills and felt sick.  Really sick.  The stupid pain pill made me so dizzy that I was rather close to throwing up.  It left me with a complimentary migraine.  I never needed the sleeping pills though- I had no problem sleeping for two solid days.  Daniel would come and wake me up every  30 minutes to administer the eye drops, then I'd go back to sleep. 

I had the surgery on Friday and it is now Tuesday evening and my vision is still blurry.  It is getting better, but it is difficult to keep my eyes open for very long.  I have been typing most of this with my eyes closed.  (so I will probably go through and edit it later)

I keep reminding myself that this was completely self-inflicted, meaning that this was optional and not medically necessary. Over the years I have thought about cosmetic surgeries and this is the one that I have not hesitated to consider.  Knowing that in a few weeks I will be able to see at least 20/40 without glasses is what is keeping me going.  I have been spending  a lot of time listening to talk radio and catching up on one of my favorite radio shows called "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me".  Each episode has provided me with a good belly laugh, which has been good for me. 

I feel very blessed to be able to have this procedure done.  It is expensive, but we felt that it was worth the expense (after paying for eye glasses over the years, it adds up too!)  Daniel has come out as a super hero (again) for taking such good care of me and the house while I've been out of commission.  We weren't planning on me being out for this long, so he has had to do more than we bargained for. 

Every 30 minutes I put eye drops in my eyes to keep my cornea moist and help with the healing.  Today I was on the couch when I put the eye drops in .  My eyes were feeling drier than usual, so I put two drops in each eye.  The excess drops flooded out like tears, and Jane was quite concerned.  She grabbed a tissue, wiped my 'tears', wiped my nose, gave me a hug and then threw the tissue away.  It was the sweetest little moment.  I am spoiled to be taken care of so well!  Paul wrote a poem for me, but I'll need to post it later. 

Here is to seeing better tomorrow!  I might get medical clearance to drive on Thursday!