Update

Sierra has had a couple times of pain this evening where she has cried briefly.  She complains about light hurting her eyes so we're sitting in dimly lit rooms.  She says they hurt when she blinks them.  She did play for a few minutes earlier.

She's been listening to the High School Musical 2 soundtrack on the CD player. 

The three oldest members of our family have colds in various stages.  Mine is in the runny nose, sneezing, headache-nose-and-face-hurt stage.  So, I won't be blogging too much.  As soon as time allows, I'll blog about Sierra's day in more detail.  Aaachooo!  Sniff sniff. G'night.

Trooper

Sierra was a real trooper.  She was very brave and never cried once.  She came out of the anesthesia very gently.  They said many kids are grumpy but she was not, so we were glad.  We thought she was sleeping a lot at first but she was just resting her eyes because she heard us and responded to everything we said, just with her eyes closed. 

Ibuprofen seems to help the most with the pain and has allowed her to sleep all afternoon.  Here eyes are very red, especially her left eye.  This could last a few weeks. 

Don't Tell Me That

Jeff comes home from work today and asks me what the surgeon's name is that is going to work on Sierra.  She's only been going to this doctor for 3 1/2 years and he doesn't know his name. 

Anyway, I told him Dr. W and then he said he was glad I didn't say Dr. B. because so-and-so's son had that done by Dr. B and he really botched it up and he ended up having to go to the nearest large metropolitan city to have scar tissue removed and blah blah blah. 

I said, "Don't tell me stuff like that the day before."  

It Continues

I read the Berenstain Bears book to the kids.  This worked for about two hours.  Instead of scheming and planning during that time, he started asking "Can I get a Nintendo DS when I am seven? eight?" 

Later in the day, being inspired by Big Bird from a book we read the other day, Sean decided yesterday to sell something to make money.  His first idea was lemonade.  He also thought about making warm tea and selling a cup to Daddy when he got home from work.  For $10. 

I have to get the Didj plan up and going soon.  I got an email from Toys R Us with some good news and some bad news.  The good news is that they will have free shipping on the ALL NEW NINTENDO DS!  If you pre-order one for when they come out in April.  What????  So, I clicked on the link and found that the new and improved Nintendo DS will be sporting a new and increased price of $169.99.  Yippee.  Don't you just hate video game companies?  Now, on the bright side, this probably means the current Nintendo DS stock will go on clearance and the price will be reduced significantly.  Maybe after he sells a few $10 cups of tea and coffee, Sean will be closer to his goal sooner than we think. 

The ironic thing about this is that a couple of years ago I sold a used Nintendo DS on eBay for a friend.  Her son did not play with it and I offered to sell it for her.  I actually did real well with it on eBay (almost $100) but probably would have gotten a great deal for us if I would have made her an offer.  Who knew that it would still be a hot item today?  Oh well. 

Scheming and Planning

As soon as Sean's feet hit the floor this morning, he grabbed some paper and he and Sierra began working on their Christmas list.  Yes, in February. 

Last night we were looking at the Sunday sale ads and there was a Nintendo DS in there like the one I showed Sean while we were looking at mp3 players. 

So, guess what was on his list for Christmas.  A Nintendo DS and some games to go with it.  He showed me his list and then asked me if he can have that for Christmas.  I said, "Sean, this is February, when is Christmas?"  He thought for a moment and then said, "How about for my birthday?"  I told him that is still not until October and I am not making any promises about what he will get. 

Soon after this, he brought me Sierra's list that he helped her make.  It had two things.  One was a Dora the Explorer video game (for her Leapster) and Trix (yes, the cereal).  He went on to explain why Trix was on the list.  Because on tv, the commercial showed that if you open a box of Trix, you might find $10,000 inside.  And if Sierra wins with the box she gets for Christmas, she will share her money with him so he can buy the mp3 player.  They have it all worked out.  What a plan.  By the way, in case you were wondering, his urgency for an mp3 player is less for now because Callie has loaned him her personal CD player. 

Later, Sean asks me if we can go to Target later and get a Nintendo DS.  I guess he decided October is too far away.  I told him I do not have $130.  He says, "Well, I have $10, how much do you have?" 

He brought me his soccer ball bank and asked me to open it for him.  I told him there will not be $130 in the bank.  He said he knows that but that Daddy said that a dime at a time, bit by bit, he can save that money. 

I found that Berenstain Bears book this morning and we will be reading it SOON.  We also need to be looking for a book about "patience". 

I also have a plan of my own that will hopefully deter the Nintendo DS obsession.  I bought a Didj recently on clearance.  It was an awesome deal at 75% off (I love Target).  It is a special edition Star Wars version and came with a Star Wars Clone Wars game that is educational in Math (1st-3rd grade).  We are going to start an Accountable Kids program here so that we can have a better handle on tv time and video game time and get a grip on behavior.  The kids will have to earn tickets by doing their chores.  The tickets can be taken away for bad behavior.  These tickets are then used to buy ticketed activities such as tv time and video game time (including the Didj for Sean) and other pre-selected activities.

I'll let you know how it goes.   

Gymnastics

Here are some attempts I made at taking pics of the kids at gymnastics. 

Got the Gimmies

Sean has a serious case of the Gimmies. 

It's time to pull out the Berenstain Bears book.  If you are not familiar with these books, I highly recommend them.  We have several.  I have picked most of them up at garage sales for about a quarter. 

Sean wants an mp3 player.   He doesn't care that Callie was about 12 before she got one and he's only half-way there.  At Walmart the other day, he wanted to "look" at mp3 players.  I thought this would be a good lesson (so he could see just how much they cost).  As I suspected, he was in sticker shock with the $100 mp3 players.  But then he saw some for around $30 or $40 and started to see light at the end of his tunnel.  We kept walking through electronics and I showed him the Nintendo DS games and I said that by Christmas time, he might prefer one of those to an mp3 player.  He then decided he didn't want to wait until Christmas, he wants one now... how much?  Around $130 I said.  WHAT?????   And that's just the system, you still have to buy the games to go in it. 

I suggested that he could save up money and buy what he wants.  That got his wheels spinning.  When we got home, he decided to hit Daddy up for some money for the time he helped strip wallpaper two weeks ago.  $20 should be good or so he thought.  We are trying to help him understand that when he volunteers to do something, he is not supposed to expect to get paid.  Today he asked me several times if there was a job he could do. 

I told him that I have an mp3 player that he can listen to sometime.  I never should have told him that unless I had planned to find it and charge it immediately.  He does not forget anything. 

Forecasts

The forecast last night was cold... any snow would be north of I-70... blah blah blah.  The next chance of measurable snow.... Saturday. 

So when I was up at 4:00am...  and looked out to what looked like a blizzard, I hoped I was dreaming. 

Nope.

This is the path I shoveled to the mailbox this morning.  Notice there are no tracks from Jeff's car so most of this fell after he left for work around 6:00am.  Maybe it's me, but if I can use a shovel on it, it's measurable as far as I'm concerned.  I suppose these surprise snows only help make up for the times we are expecting snow and get nothing.  It all balances out somehow.  Problem with these surprise snows is that the road crews were also surprised, which means no salt on the roads.  Can you say slick? 

Not usually a problem except when I schedule an early eye doctor appointment at 9:15am.  That's not too early for most people but it is for Sierra.  There's no way to describe how she is if someone wakes her up before she has had her beauty rest.  Mean is the best word to describe her.  She kicks, yells "Go away, MOMMY!  Stop talking to me!  It's fun.   At least it didn't last long. 

By the time we arrived at the appointment, she was back to her normal princess self.  She is so good for the doctor.  She answers his questions in barely more than a whisper and smiles at me during this exam.   

I got more information from him about the upcoming surgery.  It is on both eyes for the one muscle.  But on her left eye, he will also correct a second muscle.  Her eye not only turns in, but also shoots up like it's looking at the moon.  That's a different muscle.  The whole surgery will take about 1 1/2 hours. 

I talked to her more about it and she is not scared at all.  She's like "Yippee!  I can't wait!"  I just hope and pray that her pain will be minimal following the operation.  We went to the library this afternoon.  I picked up some books about the hospital and also some on birds since that is what she is studying at preschool this month.  Reading is fun.  I love our library. 

Test your Knowledge

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?  My reply to this is usually, "Depends.  Which 5th grader?" 

If you like to test your knowledge every once in a while with game shows such as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader or Cash Cab (my favorite) or Jeopardy, then you might like this website.  It is a puzzle or test of your knowledge of the geographical location of the 50 states.  It keeps track of your score, how far off your knowledge is and it also keeps track of how long it takes you.  No pressure.  Have fun! 

Go here and try it and see how you do. 

Cute in Glasses

Look who has glasses now.  We think Clayton is adorable in his new glasses. 

Say what?

On the way home from gymnastics today, Sierra asked me when is she going to get her eye fixed so it will turn into a different color?  What?  I asked her to repeat her question and yes, that was what she said.  I told her they were not going to change the color of her eye, it would be still be blue.  She said, "Okay, then when are they going to fix it?"  I told her in two weeks.  She said, "And then I'll get lots of candy when I come home.  I can't wait!" 

I guess I better start stocking up on candy.  Ha. 

Too Much TV?

Okay, I think, maybe... Sean watches too much television. (Alright, I know he watches too much.) The other day he came proudly into the room to announce to me that he knows all the SpongeBob shows. I looked at him and said, "Well, you know what that means, don't you?". Oh, the look of terror. He looked down and said, "Yes." I said, "What?". He said, "I don't want to talk about it." He knew that he had just given me ammunition for restricting t.v. time.

Then there was the commercial for Rally's. He came in the kitchen over the weekend with change in his hand. He started explaining to me that Rally's has 99 cent Rallyburgers and 79 cent creamy chocolate milkshakes. He showed me his hand and said, "So, here's 79 cents, can I get a milkshake?" Unfortunately, he meant right then. I told him no, but I was really curious about the money in his hand so I asked him to give it to me. I counted it. Sure enough, in dimes, nickels and pennies, he had counted 79 cents from his treasure chest of coins. We did find out later that our Rally's does not have 79 cent milkshakes.

On Monday, he asked me if I could buy some Yogos when I go to the store. I'm thinking he's found a new snack food that he'd like to eat. But then he started explaining to me that inside the box, there are cards worth 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or even 100 dollars. He went on to say, "Millions will play, but only thousands will win. So I think I will win."

Oh brother. I don't know which is worse, that he is watching all of these commercials on Nickelodeon or that he has his father's annoying ability to memorize things from t.v.

When Jeff and I first dated, I thought he was kind of witty. He had some little sayings, like "Campers, it's 9:30 and that's lights out time..." and others. And then we watched Meatballs one night... and after listening to several of the lines, I looked at him like I just realized that I was dating Bill Murray. That has not been in his favor for 21+ years since I think that most, if not all, of Bill Murray's roles are rather perverted. Or at least the roles I've seen him in.

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Esotropia

As some of you know, Sierra has been doctoring with an ophthalmologist for her eyes for a few years.  At first, it was for the eye that turned in at times.  Two years ago we noticed it turned in worse when she was focusing on something so her vision was checked and we learned she is very far-sighted.  That's when she first got glasses. Her prescription in both eyes is a +4.75 which is very strong. 

The doctor has continued to watch her eyes by checking her every few months.  Last summer, we had to patch her eye for a month when her vision in the one eye was suffering.  The brain can stop sending signals so the patch over the good eye, forced the other one to reconnect with the brain.  I have read that if this isn't corrected soon enough, vision can be permanently lost in the eye.

Today at her appointment, the doctor said her vision is staying the same so no need to patch.  That was the good news.  The bad news is that the eye that turns in even with her glasses on has progressively gotten to the point where it now requires surgery.  He has mentioned this possibility since day one so it is not a surprise.  He explained it is a simple surgery done under general anesthetic and takes only about 45 minutes. 

Her outpatient surgery is scheduled on Feb. 27.  I explained it to her and she was like, "okay".  And I told her she'd get candy and ice cream and so forth when she wakes up.  Sean, on the other hand, frets and worries about such things.  Mostly he worries that he will have to have surgery of some kind too.  He will worry about her.  We'll have to work on that so his worries do not transfer to her. 

Fun Day

Today we had a few things going on.  Sean and Sierra had gymnastics for an hour.  Imagine a bunch of homeschool moms sitting on some bleachers chatting while the kids get a good work out in the gym.  Early in the hour, our attention was drawn to one of the male instructors (Sean's favorite) who had started doing back flips on the trampoline.  On about his fourth flip, his pants fell down, exposing his Superman boxers.  It has been a long time since I've laughed that hard.  We were all laughing hard.  I said we need to get out more. 

Sierra and I went to the library to return some books, cash in some points for the winter reading club, get some movies and more books.  I completed the adult reading club so I got entered in the drawing for I have no idea what.  I also got a book bag.  It's not as nice as the ones we usually use, but it's free.  I read four books for the club and got a bonus buck for the ongoing book sale, a couple other coupons and a key ring card holder, plus the book bag.  We checked out some good movies.  They moved the DVD area so it has its own space and doesn't interfere with book checkout or should I say that the other way around?  Much more space now.  We picked up Madagascar, Toothless (with Kirstie Alley), Wendy Wu and Where the Red Fern Grows. 

But the best part was when we turned in the kids' books to get points for their reading club.  They both had a little over 100 points.  I wasn't going to select their prizes today since Sean wasn't with us, but I saw something that caught my eye.  On top of a newly filled bin of books (100 pts gets a book), there was a brand new paperback copy of The New Adventure Bible.  It is a NIV Study Bible for kids.  It is what we planned to get for Sean for Bible Study.  He will be old enough for BSF next year if his level is open.  Callie had this same Bible but in hardback.  The hardback version costs over $20 and the paperback is around $15, so needless to say, I spent 100 of Sean's points (plus 20 on a tattoo).   We love our library. 

Callie went to her 4-H club's first meeting of the year.  She got her 5-year pin.  She's looking at doing scrapbooking, creative writing and caged critters.  I'm planning to have her work on Electricity for Science and maybe some others too but we'll see.  She then went ice skating for the first time in a while.  She's limping around with raw feet tonight.  Hopefully she'll get back into the habit of going.  We are taking a year off from the ice show this year.  Between the costume and the practices, tee shirt, photos, etc. it really adds up.   

I hung out at Dollar Tree, Big Lots and Target while she skated.  I love Target Clearance sales.  I've been perusing their toy clearance since Christmas and they are now in their final - drop-the-prices-drastically stage  to get the stuff off the shelves.  I got some early Christmas/Birthday gifts. 

The melting snow smells like spring outside.  It was a very nice day.  

Things Kids Say and Do

I was helping Sierra get dressed after a bath.  I was blowing her toes before putting her socks on and she said, "Stop it!  Your blow is COLD!"  Then she says, "Is my blow cold?", and starts blowing on my arm. 

When Sean lost his first tooth a couple months ago, I put a coin under his pillow for his tooth, but when he woke up, he had my coin plus a 50-cent piece.  I thought Jeff must have added that, but later found out that Callie put it under there.  She was worried we'd forget.  I can't imagine where she got the idea that we might forget (sarcasm).  She has a good memory, I suppose.  :) 

Sean lost his second tooth this week.  He figured out who the tooth fairy was last year after we told him the truth about Santa (see this old post), so he kept reminding me about the tooth but I told him that I think the tooth fairy is on vacation in Florida (dream on, I know) and I don't have her cell phone number.  He recited a 7-digit make-believe phone number for me.  At bedtime, he kept asking me how I get the tooth from his pillow while he is asleep.  I kept pulling his leg and telling him I have no idea what he is talking about.  He just giggled.  This morning, he thanked me for the wrinkled dollar bill. 

Callie has trouble understanding cliches and old sayings.  Once recently, I said to her, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."  She immediately responded, "I wish you'd stop saying those old western sayings!" 

While watching the Thanksgiving Day parade last November, Callie calls out to me, "Mom, there's an old guy on here singing that you probably know."  Here's the video.  

I honestly didn't think he looked that old.  Come on, how old does she think I look?  Don't answer that.  Do you ever see an old school teacher that you thought was really old when you had them only to realize that they were the same age then as you are now?  Ouch. 

Anyway, I guess Rick does look a little bit older than he did back then.  Anyone remember Rick? 

Dress Up, Legos and Guinea Pigs

How are the kids spending their days cooped up inside with frigid temps outside? 

More Snow and Age Appropriate Crafts

We got more snow today but not sure how much.  It was blowing around so much that as you can see, the van is covered on this side and the driveway, but on the other side, nada.  Sierra still had preschool so I had the fun chore of sweeping off the snow to have it blow back in my face.  This is the first day in a week that schools were in session a full day.  Last week they were out 4 days and yesterday was a 2-hour delay.  Looks like tomorrow could be a 2-hour delay if the wind doesn't stop.

Now for the crafts that we worked on over the weekend.  I picked up a couple of Lisa Frank craft sets at Walmart on clearance for $1.25.  Each set had three crafts.  One was for ages 4 and up so I thought Sierra would enjoy it (it's a girly craft set).

I am curious how they based their idea of Ages 4 and up for this.  Do you see all the cords and beads that had to be tied?  Then there was the pompom that had to be made.  Sierra did enjoy helping me with it though.  She placed the sequins on the pompon and stuck the planets on. 

The next set was for ages 3 and up.  Sean chose to "make" a ladybug.

It didn't turn out too hot but maybe the instructions should have said "Not for ages 40 and up".  Sean took one look at the instructions and politely declined to participate.  Sierra ended up helping me by finding the red and black beads.  Ages 3 and up?  I think what they meant by that was like the toys that are choking hazards.  They put "Ages 3 and Up" on toys that have small parts that are for choking because that age isn't likely to eat the beads.  I mistakenly assumed that this craft was appropriate for a child at least three years old.  

I think we'll have better success with our Valentines. 

Where I Have Been

Where have you been?

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