Health Check

Yesterday was Clara's 6 year annual checkup. For me, taking Clara in for her well visits has always been stress-free. From day 1, she has been right on target with her weight and height. This time is no different. She weighed in at 49 pounds 2 ounces (72nd %ile) and is 47 inches tall (79th %ile). In fact, the only thing that had ever alerted the doctor to be concerned was when she still wasn't talking at all (zero words) by 18 months. The doctor had given me a number to call to have her evaluated if she still wasn't talking by her 2nd birthday. I remember being so grateful when she started talking a few words here and there about one month before her 2nd birthday. Not that we haven't had our fair share of illnesses with Clara... mostly ear infections (and of course that scare when we found out that she is allergic to amoxycillin), but never anything that needed a referal or a follow-up... until now. She has been referred to an opthamologist for her eyesight! I am so sad for her... the idea of needing glasses so young (I've been there and kids can be very cruel). And how have we not noticed?? Her eyesight in her left eye is so bad that all she could see on the chart was the giant E! I never expected her to have perfect vision her whole life... just look at her nearsighted parents, but already at age 6? Also... when I took her in for her annual checkup last year, her vision tested fine. Could it really have degraded so far so fast?? I guess we'll have to see how this appointment with the opthamologist on March 4 goes and just take it from there.

Of course at Clara's checkup, I had the boys also. Lucas' behavior was very acceptable (he really is a good boy). Eli, however, cried and whined the entire time we were there. I knew that he wasn't feeling good, he has the same cold that Lucas had about two weeks ago (same symptoms: runny nose, cough, goopy and swollen eye). The doctor took one look at Eli's eye and immediately wanted to give me a prescription for eye drops. I told her that I wasn't concerned since Lucas had just had the same thing... to which she responded that I should have brought Lucas in to have his eye looked at! Lesson learned! Then she asked if she could check his ears... an infection in both ears!! So now he is all medicated... drops for his eyes and antibiotics for his ears... both of which are nearly impossible to give him. He just screams and twists. He even knows the eye drop bottle... he sees me coming and he'll cover his eyes with his hands then bury his face wherever he can (couch, daddy's lap, etc.). I have to say though... I just started the drops last night and already his eyes are much improved. Oh and by the way... they did weigh Eli as part of his non-appointment... 25.2 pounds.

Afterward

The house is silent... and it is beautiful. The snow is falling... and it, too, is beautiful.

Jason officially has a new job!! I mentioned in my last post that he had an offer. Well, last week he accepted the offer and he will start on March 2. Relief and excitement abound with the realization that this is our home... our permanent home.

I came out of my husband-less week relatively unscathed. I kept myself really busy. There was a lot of preparation for Clara's birthday party. One night I had a friend and her kids over for dinner. Then on Friday, I volunteered in Clara's class to help out with the Valentine's Day party. The Valentine's Day party was a nice treat for me... it was the first time that I had an opportunity to interact with all the kids in the class (not all at once, but in small groups). It was a fun setting instead of trying to get them to stay focused on work, which seemed to help immensely. I think I can almost put a face to each name.

I made Clara's birthday cake again this year (I don't do it every year) and decided in advance that I wanted to attempt some creativity... I'm not very creative. It turned out kind of pretty... nothing like the picture I used to get my idea, but it was my first attempt at actually decorating a cake. Clara wanted a chocolate cake and I thought I would dress it up a bit by adding some mint extract to the frosting and the fondant. I must have used too much (or mint gets stronger as it sits... like red food coloring), because by the time it was ready to serve... it was VERY minty... too minty! But it still looked kind of pretty! And please notice the beautiful and perfect Tinkerbell topper... a christmas ornament that was a gift to Clara from her friend Noelle.

Which of course leads me to Clara's 6th birthday party, a Tinkerbell-themed party. The kids had a blast, or so I hear. I was commenting to someone the other day that I really couldn't tell if the girls were having fun or not. It wasn't until the next day that I heard from all of the girls' moms about how much they enjoyed themselves. It was a make-your-own-pizza party. I had stations set up with sauce, ham, pepperoni, italian sausage, red bell pepper, black olives, mushrooms, pineapple, banana peppers (for Clara) and two types of cheese (cheddar and mozzerella). Most of the girls only opted for pepperoni and cheese, which I had expected. However, it was Clara's party and you should have seen her pizza! (I should have taken a picture of her pizza!!) She took a bit of everthing and topped it with a banana pepper (kind of like the cherry on a sundae). It was so full of toppings, I wasn't sure she would be able to pick it up and eat it! Just that alone, made all the chopping and prep work completely worth it. Everything seemed to go smoothly, with the girls (and Lucas) transitioning nicely from activity to activity. We did have a bit of a behavior issue with one of the little girls, but I don't think that dampened the party spirits at all. As a side note, though... she will not be invited back. I do have some curiousity on why Clara chose to invite two of the little girls, but as it's over and everyone had a good time, I'm going to let it slide.

Here is a picture of the birthday girl blowing out her candle.
Here is a picture of the party attendees (minus Emily S., who had to leave early).

Now, let's take another look at that fantastic dress that Clara was wearing for her party! This is the colonial dress that Jason's mom made for Clara as a birthday present. It turned out so beautiful and Clara absolutely loved it. She wore it again yesterday (her actual birthday) and plans to wear it after school today. In fact, yesterday we took her to her favorite restaurant for her birthday dinner and she wanted desperately to wear the dress out to eat, but knowing that she was going to have a messy meal, we decided it would be best to wait and put it on once we were home. So she did... and opened her gifts in her new dress.

Poor Lucas and Eli... it seems like these past couple weeks have been all about Clara. Let me spend a moment and express my delight as I witness Eli becoming a little boy/toddler. He really plays with the cars - zooming them around on their wheels, making sounds for them, usually a high pitch "mmmm" that means 'zoooooom'. He responds with his eyes and hands whenever he is asked a question... I love that. He loves to play chase - he'll see you coming and just run away laughing, sometimes hiding behind a door or a chair. He is so much fun! Although his only words as of yet are "hi", "bye", and "mama" (sometimes "da")... he communicates quite effectively. He will yell "aa aa" for Clara. He will quietly say 'mm hmm" for yes and shake his head vigorously from side to side for no. He will try to mimic sounds if you ask him to say something (the actual sound won't be copied, but the tones will be... it's fascinating).

Lucas is getting better and better every day with his reading. His dance teacher last Saturday informed me that recently he has had a "movement explosion". He is without a doubt his dance teacher's favorite... being the only boy has it's perks. And I know this seems a little silly to post, but to me it seemed like such a big deal: he went into a public Men's bathroom all by himself yesterday. Sigh... they are all getting to be big kids.

As I reach the end of this post... the house is no longer silent and snow has not only stopped falling, but has completely melted away, but things still seem beautiful.

And lastly... after the last couple of busy stress-filled weeks, I think it is about time for my drummer alterego to come out of hiding. She and I are both looking forward to this Saturday's Rock Band night!!

Surrounded

I am feeling surrounded... and not in a bad way at all. For the first time in my life I feel like I have a network of friends and acquaintances... I'm surrounded by familiar faces! People that I can rely on and who can rely on me for anything. It has been gradually growing... this feeling, but this week it has really become shockingly noticeable. Jason is away on business for the whole week and typically, I would be feeling isolated (hermitized is the made-up word that I like to use to describe my situation). Not this week! Friends have been coming up asking if they can help me out by watching the kids and I've been reciprocating as well. I was even able to attend book club Monday night, which was a complete surprise! This feeling of being connected seems so important now as we face that ultimate turning point of where our future should be... obviously, my vote is here.

Which lead me to the fact that last month I joined a book club (I know... me?? really??), but I just wanted to give it a try. I was encouraged to join by an acquaintance who assured me that it's more than just books, it's a neighborhood community of women/moms who can provide advice, names of good contractors, and recommendations for babysitters, as well as an evening out once a month to talk of non-kid related things (if there is such a thing anymore?). My first book club (I hadn't read the book) was a bit overwhelming... so many voices and conversations going at once. Anybody who knows me, knows that I don't do well (understatement) with chaos. I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to attend any more, but as we were all getting our coats to leave, the women were just so warm and welcoming... actually glad that I decided to come and even looking forward to my coming again. So I did... and this time I even read the book! Well, I didn't know that I would be able to attend (Jason being out of town), but then a good friend offered to come and watch the kids so that I could go (thank you so much, Kerin)!! I'm glad that I went... this time the group was smaller and there weren't as many simultaneous conversations going on. I am glad that I joined, but I'm still having that ever-constant internal debate... I have sooo many books that I want to read, why join a book club and have to add to my list books that I would have had no interest in reading? Yes... the first book that I read for the book club turned out to be very good and one that I would never have read on my own. Wait! That is the whole purpose of book club...to widen my reading focus... introduce me to books and authors I would have never read on my own. Wait! I have only a limited amount of time to read and there are so many on my 'to read' list already. There is my circular debate... on and on.

And it looks like our future may be here after all. Saving the best for last... Jason has an offer letter!! There has been much interest in him in the past month (many emails, some interviews), but this offer came from a company that pursued him specifically. Jason actually declined an interview when they first called, but they were persistant and it looks like it will be a good fit to Jason's experience and interest. There are still some issues/questions that he is looking into, but this is such exciting news that I kind of wanted to shout it out (from the rooftops, if I could)!

Imaginary Friends

We have had imaginary friends in our lives since Clara first introduced us to Lorka... I'm guessing she was about 2 1/2 years old. Lorka went everywhere with us. At times, I would even have to hold the door to the car open an extra minute just to let Lorka climb in and buckle up too. It has never been a hardship to deal with her 'presence'. In addition to Lorka, Clara had an entire network of imaginary friends... and they each had some relationship to one another that Clara knew. It was sometimes amazing how she kept it all straight. I couldn't, outside the most familiar ones. This is what I remember... it's a little blurry now. There was Dexie, who lived across the street from Lorka, and Dexie's little sister Claire. There was also a Sarah, but I don't remember how she fit in. Then suddenly one day (at least a year ago)... Lorka and all of her cohorts were gone. And just as suddenly, in pops somebody named Mary. Mary is around us constantly. Clara describes Mary as her crime-fighting fairy friend... so funny! Mary's age ranges from 2 to 22, depending (on what I'm not sure). Sometimes Mary has a baby, sometimes not. I mentioned to a friend of mine some of the horrific ways that Mary has died (and just as sunnily is back the next moment). And just as Clara's previous imaginary friend had a network... so, too, does this one. Mary has a cousin named Strawberry, who has a little sister named Gold. I know there's many more, but I can't remember them all, and yes... they are all fairies. Clara can even tell you what color their dresses are. It's really fascinating to listen to her go on and on about her fairy friends.

Clara has not spoken about Lorka in at least a year. When Lorka was gone... she was really gone. However, about a month ago, I noticed that suddenly Lorka was back... for LUCAS!! We walk home from the elementary school and we have to stop and wait for Lorka to catch up. I hear Clara and Lucas playing and they'll set aside toys for Mary and Lorka. At the moment when Lucas first mentioned Lorka... I actually wondered if there was a person there that I could not see (all those stories about how people lose their "sight" as they get older started haunting me... maybe Lorka really was there, but since I was an adult, I couldn't see her). Did Lucas remember Lorka from when she was Clara's friend (even though he was so so so young)?? Will Lorka stick around Lucas until it's time for her to move on to Eli?

It seems as though Lorka may be a semi-permanent member of our family for a while. Maybe come Christmas time... I'll have to add her name to the cards?