This is just an FYI for those of you with kiddos, especially baby girls. Gymboree is having a sale, up to 60% off and it's actually really cute stuff. Sometimes they only put the not cute stuff on sale, but not this time! The start of a new season is always expensive for me. I have to get everybody outfitted in weather appropriate attire because they have all outgrown everything from the previous year. So I love a bargain!
Oh, and thanks to my good friend Amy, my new obsession is Etsy. Certainly not always a bargain, but so stinkin cute it doesn't even matter!
Okay, that's all I got. I'm off to shower :)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tulips and Snow
Here are some pics! I got Holland's helmet all decorated. I decided to do tulips since it is spring and also because Holland is famous for it's tulips. I also wanted to include some shots from post blizzard. Enjoy!
Friday, March 27, 2009
March Madness
No, this isn't about basketball. It's about CRAZY spring weather! We've been praying for a big snowstorm all winter. This morning we woke up to a BLIZZARD! Better late than never!
Yes, Boaz's pants are purple. Poor kid is wearing his big sis' hand me downs.
This is after almost an hour digging snow tunnels. They look like astronauts or something.
Boaz didn't last that long. He stayed outside maybe 5 minutes. Playing with legos by the fire is way more fun (for me anyway!).
Had to include this one! I thought he was trying to do the "tree pose", but he says he was being Captain Morgan.
Yes, Boaz's pants are purple. Poor kid is wearing his big sis' hand me downs.
This is after almost an hour digging snow tunnels. They look like astronauts or something.
Boaz didn't last that long. He stayed outside maybe 5 minutes. Playing with legos by the fire is way more fun (for me anyway!).
Had to include this one! I thought he was trying to do the "tree pose", but he says he was being Captain Morgan.Wednesday, March 25, 2009
"Uh, Look..."
I wasn't home until late yesterday evening because I had to work in the healing rooms at our church, so I didn't get to see the President's press conference. Kev had Bronwyn and Boaz at home. I have no idea how he managed to talk them out of Thomas to turn it on (maybe I should take lessons). Anyway, he told me that as they were all three snuggled on the couch watching, Bronwyn said, "He sure says 'Uh' a lot." Kev snickered and then replied, "Honey, we don't have to watch this if you don't want to. Do you not like listening to him?" She said, "No. Because I think he should know what he's going to say when those people ask him a question. He shouldn't have to say 'Uh' all the time. I don't think he knows what he's talking about."
Oh the wisdom of children ;)
Oh the wisdom of children ;)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Updates Galore!
Spring Break is over...woo hoo!!! No, I'm kidding. It was a good week, just very busy having all 3 kids here all week. I'm used to Bronwyn being in school all day and Boaz having Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I love my kids, but we get along much better when we have mini-breaks from each other. It actually went by a lot faster than I thought it would. Anyway, I realized that my last several posts have been about Holland, so I wanted to share a bit about what the other two have been doing.
Well, the first day of the Break featured a wonderful little snow storm. I left work that day giddy as a, well kid, and let big fat snow flakes land on my tongue as I walked to my car. We snuggled in that night with a fire, very likely our last of the season. By noon the next day all the evidence of snow, or moisture for that matter, was evaporated. And to my great shame I got no pictures of the kids playing in it :(
I had a half hearted goal of keeping the TV off this week. I mostly succeeded.
Kev made the big mistake of falling asleep on the couch. I don't know if you can tell, but his face is covered in glittery play make up.
The things I did not get pics of (other than the snow) include the mostly summer like weather we had for the rest of the week. We played out side for most of the day every day. Bronwyn had some friends over Monday and went to my sister's ranch with her cousins on Tuesday, where she found arrowheads, a cow skull, and was stung by a wasp (how exciting!). She and Boaz each had turns spending the night with grandparents and generally wearing everyone around them out. Boaz fought a fever for the next 2 days. I think he's getting some molars. Thursday they spent with Darni while Ha Hay and I were in Dallas. On Friday I took the kids (my myself!) to Dalhart to see my good friend Haley and her precious little red head Holden. I scared myself half to death on the trip home by forgetting to get gas. I was on E by the time I left Channing and was in no man's land. I stopped at the little store in Vale de Oro that has the ancient gas pumps only to find they both had equally ancient padlocks on them and the price of per gallon was under a dollar. Apparently they haven't sold gas in qutie some time. So, back in the car and pray, pray, pray! I don't know how, but I managed to make it home. We had more friends out for dinner that night, a lazy Saturday the next day, Kev led worship at church on Sunday, and last night we all fell into an exhausted slumber. Well, almost all of us. We put B in bed at 8 but I don't think she went to sleep until after 10. Oh, it was a rude awakening this morning! A preview of weeks to come I guess...summer is just around the corner!
Well, the first day of the Break featured a wonderful little snow storm. I left work that day giddy as a, well kid, and let big fat snow flakes land on my tongue as I walked to my car. We snuggled in that night with a fire, very likely our last of the season. By noon the next day all the evidence of snow, or moisture for that matter, was evaporated. And to my great shame I got no pictures of the kids playing in it :(
I had a half hearted goal of keeping the TV off this week. I mostly succeeded.
Kev made the big mistake of falling asleep on the couch. I don't know if you can tell, but his face is covered in glittery play make up.
The things I did not get pics of (other than the snow) include the mostly summer like weather we had for the rest of the week. We played out side for most of the day every day. Bronwyn had some friends over Monday and went to my sister's ranch with her cousins on Tuesday, where she found arrowheads, a cow skull, and was stung by a wasp (how exciting!). She and Boaz each had turns spending the night with grandparents and generally wearing everyone around them out. Boaz fought a fever for the next 2 days. I think he's getting some molars. Thursday they spent with Darni while Ha Hay and I were in Dallas. On Friday I took the kids (my myself!) to Dalhart to see my good friend Haley and her precious little red head Holden. I scared myself half to death on the trip home by forgetting to get gas. I was on E by the time I left Channing and was in no man's land. I stopped at the little store in Vale de Oro that has the ancient gas pumps only to find they both had equally ancient padlocks on them and the price of per gallon was under a dollar. Apparently they haven't sold gas in qutie some time. So, back in the car and pray, pray, pray! I don't know how, but I managed to make it home. We had more friends out for dinner that night, a lazy Saturday the next day, Kev led worship at church on Sunday, and last night we all fell into an exhausted slumber. Well, almost all of us. We put B in bed at 8 but I don't think she went to sleep until after 10. Oh, it was a rude awakening this morning! A preview of weeks to come I guess...summer is just around the corner!
Friday, March 20, 2009
This Is a Quickie
I have absolutely no time to blog right now, but of course I'm doing it anyway. Pardon the forthcoming typos! Those of you who are "friends" of mine on facebook have already seen these, but I wanted to post some quick pics of Holland's helmet, or "band"! SHe is doing really well with it PRAISE GOD!!! Of course, we'are only on day 2. We went to Dallas yesterday for the fitting. She was a trooper for sure. SHe slept all night last night, but that could be because she was exhausted. Here are the pics. I havn'et had a chance to decorate it yet, but I will post more when a do!
This is at the clinic.
It was a LONG flight home!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Just Call me Mrs. Jumbo
You want the good news or the bad news first? Okay, the good news is our trip to the Doc Band clinic in Dallas was successful. Holland was a trooper in spite of only 15 minutes of sleep here and there. We left our house at 5 am and got back to our house at 2 pm! We better get used to it, though, because the bad news is we will be going back EVERY week!!! The orthotist, Lisa, said that because Holland is so young, they will need to make adjustments on her band weekly instead of bi-weekly like I had thought at first. The other bad news is that her plagiocephaly began in-utero (they can tell from the shape) and that that type usually takes longer to fix. Lisa estimated 10 weeks in the first band, followed by the possibility of a second band after that (at another $3300 I might add). The reason for that is again, Holland's age. Babies' heads grow so much between 5 and 7 months that the first band would not fit properly after that. So, obviously, we are praying that the first band does the trick.
The clinic was nice, though. Everyone was very sweet and helpful. First they took measurements of her head with some calipers. If you were to make an X on your head (from your right temple to the left back part of your head and vice versa) the two distances should be somewhat equal. A difference of 2-3 mm is normal. Holland's difference is 18 mm! I had read somewhere that 8mm is considered pretty bad. While Lisa said 18 is not the worst number they have seen, she would consider Holland's plagio severe. Next, they took us to a room to do the "DSi Scan". Have you ever seen the behind the scenes features of a movie where they used CGI? That's sort of what this reminded me of. They put a white pantyhose sock over her head and face and set her on a stool. There were six cameras all around and above the stool that took simultaneous pictures. Those pics then became a 3D model on the computer screen. The tech turned the 3D pic green and took out all the facial features. This is the model they will use to fabricate her band. I asked for a copy of it, but they said the file was too big for them to burn to a disk. You can see another kid's scan here to see what I'm talking about.
She did so good. She looked like a little bank robber with the pantyhose on her face, but she barely even wimpered about it! After that, they took some regular pics for her "before" file. She did have a mini meltdown at that point.
So, all in all, it was a long day. At the airport on the way home, people kept peeking at her and saying "Oh, how cute!" Despite her lack of sleep, she'd reward them all with a huge Holland grin, to which they would exclaim "Oh!" again. I couldn't help but think about what the looks will be on our next return trip, after we actually have the band on. Will people peek in to the car seat to see the baby and then draw back? Will they stare? Will they do double takes? I imagined myself as Dumbo's mommy, Mrs. Jumbo. I pictured the scene where the children are making fun of her baby's ears and she picks one of them up and spanks them with her trunk. Of course, then they tie her up and lock her away, so maybe I'll have to come up with a different reaction. But I know the feeling in my heart will be the same. Can't you see my beautiful little girl under there?
We make the return trip for the fitting in 2 weeks. After that it will be weekly. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming please!
The clinic was nice, though. Everyone was very sweet and helpful. First they took measurements of her head with some calipers. If you were to make an X on your head (from your right temple to the left back part of your head and vice versa) the two distances should be somewhat equal. A difference of 2-3 mm is normal. Holland's difference is 18 mm! I had read somewhere that 8mm is considered pretty bad. While Lisa said 18 is not the worst number they have seen, she would consider Holland's plagio severe. Next, they took us to a room to do the "DSi Scan". Have you ever seen the behind the scenes features of a movie where they used CGI? That's sort of what this reminded me of. They put a white pantyhose sock over her head and face and set her on a stool. There were six cameras all around and above the stool that took simultaneous pictures. Those pics then became a 3D model on the computer screen. The tech turned the 3D pic green and took out all the facial features. This is the model they will use to fabricate her band. I asked for a copy of it, but they said the file was too big for them to burn to a disk. You can see another kid's scan here to see what I'm talking about.
She did so good. She looked like a little bank robber with the pantyhose on her face, but she barely even wimpered about it! After that, they took some regular pics for her "before" file. She did have a mini meltdown at that point.
So, all in all, it was a long day. At the airport on the way home, people kept peeking at her and saying "Oh, how cute!" Despite her lack of sleep, she'd reward them all with a huge Holland grin, to which they would exclaim "Oh!" again. I couldn't help but think about what the looks will be on our next return trip, after we actually have the band on. Will people peek in to the car seat to see the baby and then draw back? Will they stare? Will they do double takes? I imagined myself as Dumbo's mommy, Mrs. Jumbo. I pictured the scene where the children are making fun of her baby's ears and she picks one of them up and spanks them with her trunk. Of course, then they tie her up and lock her away, so maybe I'll have to come up with a different reaction. But I know the feeling in my heart will be the same. Can't you see my beautiful little girl under there?
We make the return trip for the fitting in 2 weeks. After that it will be weekly. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming please!
Monday, March 2, 2009
FYI
I have posted a few times about Holland and the Torticollis and Plagiocephaly. I've become a quasi-expert on this subject and have realized that I throw around these terms without explaining them very well. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I found some that will show you what we are dealing with:
Sketch, note the ear misalignment.
Same thing. Holland is actually the opposite of this, though. The bulge on her head is on the right side like the pic below. This pic is the more common plagio.
Before.
This is a pic of the Doc Band on their website. This is what Holland's band will basically look like. You can decorate them with paint or stickers.
After. This is what we are hoping to accomplish.
Sketch, note the ear misalignment.
Same thing. Holland is actually the opposite of this, though. The bulge on her head is on the right side like the pic below. This pic is the more common plagio.
Before.
This is a pic of the Doc Band on their website. This is what Holland's band will basically look like. You can decorate them with paint or stickers.
After. This is what we are hoping to accomplish.Hope that helps. Keep us in your prayers as I take her to Dallas* on Wednesday. They will be doing the initial consult, measurements, and scans in order to make her band. Our flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning and we will be back that same afternoon, so it will be pretty fast and furious. We will probably return the next week or so to get the actual band. I'll post updates then!
*I just realized that on my last post about this I said I would be getting a band here in town. After a tremendous amount of research, prayer, and driving my husband crazy with all my mind changes and pro/con lists, I decided the one in Dallas is the better choice for Holland.
*I just realized that on my last post about this I said I would be getting a band here in town. After a tremendous amount of research, prayer, and driving my husband crazy with all my mind changes and pro/con lists, I decided the one in Dallas is the better choice for Holland.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
