So far, 2012 is treating my little family well. We got home in time for lunch together on Tuesday afternoon, and Thursday I had to drive out to Sacramento for an early-morning urology appointment at Shriners on Friday. C passed her tests with flying colors! I wasn't particularly worried about her bladder and kidneys after her vesicoureteral reflux resolved a few years back, but it was comforting to have confirmation that the condition hasn't recurred.
Classes don't start back up for a couple of weeks, so I have some time to play catch-up around the house and with work stuff before my schedule fills up again. C's school starts Monday, and I'm looking forward to getting her back into a steady routine. She had a great time with the vacation and our trip to Sacramento, basically running amok and sleeping where and when she chose. She also ate a half-gallon tub of shortbread cookies over 3 days, which may seem like bad mothering until you take into consideration that this is a child who is severely underweight and whose pediatrician and nutritionist have recommended giving her as many calories as possible in any form she'll eat, provided that she still gets the bulk of her nutrition from Pediasure. She gained 0.6lbs in two weeks. I'm pretty pleased, and thinking I need to find a recipe for shortbread cookies! ;)
My favorite meal of our trip, despite several great meals, was the luxurious small plate offerings at Barleyswine. I can't recommend that place enough to anyone in or visiting the Austin area, and I will be sure to visit it on each trip home. I doubt I'll ever forget that meal! My favorite moment of the trip would normally be Christmas Eve, surrounded by my enormous extended family, sitting on the carpet in my grandparents' great room, singing Christmas carols with my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and all the other kiddos... I mean, really, that's a hard moment to beat! But no, something else managed to squeeze in and take the glory. My favorite moment of the trip was when hubby, who absolutely REFUSES to dance, danced with me in the hotel elevator on our anniversary night. It was a glass elevator, so our dancing was visible to all, and we danced to the music floating up from the hotel lobby below. Even when someone got in the elevator with us, he didn't stop dancing. Those are the moments that take your breath away. :)
Showing posts with label anniversary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anniversary. Show all posts
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Another Week Comes to a Close
This week was a fairly typical week. I went to the gym Monday and Wednesday mornings, I went to my therapist and started EMDR on Tuesday, I had class Wednesday night. I played WoW Tues-Thurs nights for about 2-3 hours each night (raiding), and I spent Friday being as lazy as I could possibly manage while Ceili was home because there's no school on Fridays. This morning, I woke up early to go to the salon and get my roots touched up and my bangs cut.
I had Starbucks four or five times this week, including this morning. I stuck to my diet 3 days, cheated on dinner the 4th day, and cheated outright yesterday, although it IS a flex plan with two days off per week, so it just means I have to get back on the diet tomorrow instead of waiting until Monday.
I spent three days on the phone with our pediatrician's office trying to get follow-up X-rays on the coin(?) in C's throat that showed up in her X-rays on the 22nd, which the doctor felt needed foll-up X-rays to see if it was still lodged in her throat and/or needed surgical removal. That battle to get someone on the phone and to get a phone call returned resolved in them calling me after closing on Friday to tell me I could pick up the X-ray order on Monday morning, so I guess I'll be going by there while C is at school and taking her for X-rays when she gets home. It makes me nervous knowing there was something in her throat and that it's taking this long to verify whether it's still there and whether it needs removing.
I also spoke several times with the company that will be making C's custom wheelchair, as ordered by the orthopedist at Shriner's. Things seem to be progressing well so far. They're going to talk to C's PT at the school on Monday and schedule a time to go down and evaluate C, measure her, etc to determine exactly what kind of chair and cushions she needs. That will be done before they can get authorization from our insurance company, but it seems our insurance company has a good track record of approving mobility assistive devices from that company when a doctor orders them (no small miracle there!). The insurance company typically covers $3,500 of the cost of the chair, which should be enough, unless it's determined that she needs custom molded cushions as opposed to just regular cushions that are cut to size and placed strategically for her needs, so there's a chance this new chair could cost us nothing, which would be an enormous miracle. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that there's any chance we could get the chair before we leave for the holidays on Dec. 20, because we use our current wheelchair heavily while traveling, and it would just be fantastic to have the new one ready in time for our trip!
I foolishly bought "one last" gift for my husband for Christmas, even though I couldn't afford it. It's something I know he wants, though, so it'll be worth it when he opens it and bursts with childlike excitement over the silly thing. I'm having all of his gifts shipped to my parents' house in Texas, which is where we'll be spending Christmas. His anniversary and birthday presents are going there, too, as we'll still be visiting there when those special days roll around.
For our anniversary, which happens to fall on New Year's Eve, we'll be staying at the same hotel we stayed on our wedding night, with the same view of the river and the fireworks that are set off over the river at midnight. My mom is babysitting C overnight, so we'll get to go out to dinner and/or drinks if we like, have a romantic night in a luxurious room, and try to remember what it's like to be a couple instead of just parents. Sometimes it's difficult to be both, and parenting always seems to come first, so it should be a really good night off for us. I can't wait! Plus, the next morning is his birthday, so he can open anniversary and birthday presents all in the hotel room, and I won't have my mom looking over shoulders grumbling about how I spent too much money on gifts. ;)
Ceili's school didn't send home any art projects this week, which was a bit of a disappointment. Some weeks, they send home a few things on Thursdays, and then other times, they wait a few weeks and send home a whole bag of stuff all at once. I guess they'll be sending a bag one of these weeks, so I can at least look forward to that, but I just burst with pride when those things come home from school, especially since she's doing more and more of the work by herself, and I can see her influence expressed in the art. Looking at her fingerpaintings, I can see her in my mind, hands covered in paint, smearing the page and squealing with utter delight. That's half the joy of getting her work.
I missed the post-Thanksgiving weekend 60% off custom framing at Michaels, so I'm going to have to wait for their next framing special to get a favorite fingerpainting and her first completely solo watercolor done with a paintbrush framed to hang in the hallway. I intend to turn the hall walls into a C museum with all of my favorite works. She's getting watercolors for Christmas this year, so she'll even have some homemade works to hang on the wall. (I need the hallway because, let's face it, a refrigerator door just isn't big enough to showcase all of the artistic masterpieces made by an only child with special needs!)
I've been plugging LakeshoreLearning.com on Twitter lately, and with good reason. They have an amazing array of toys and furniture that are perfect for parents or educators of children with a variety of special needs, and many of C's Christmas presents are coming from there. The biggie was the sand and water table I ordered on Nov. 28 that arrived at my door just FOUR DAYS later, on Dec. 2. I'm not going to set it up in her room until after we get home from Texas, but she is going to LOVE that. The water table is her favorite station at school, so I know it's the perfect Christmas gift for her. I'm going to have to get creative about covering the carpet in her room, though, or I'll never be able to get the sand out of it! ;)
I had Starbucks four or five times this week, including this morning. I stuck to my diet 3 days, cheated on dinner the 4th day, and cheated outright yesterday, although it IS a flex plan with two days off per week, so it just means I have to get back on the diet tomorrow instead of waiting until Monday.
I spent three days on the phone with our pediatrician's office trying to get follow-up X-rays on the coin(?) in C's throat that showed up in her X-rays on the 22nd, which the doctor felt needed foll-up X-rays to see if it was still lodged in her throat and/or needed surgical removal. That battle to get someone on the phone and to get a phone call returned resolved in them calling me after closing on Friday to tell me I could pick up the X-ray order on Monday morning, so I guess I'll be going by there while C is at school and taking her for X-rays when she gets home. It makes me nervous knowing there was something in her throat and that it's taking this long to verify whether it's still there and whether it needs removing.
I also spoke several times with the company that will be making C's custom wheelchair, as ordered by the orthopedist at Shriner's. Things seem to be progressing well so far. They're going to talk to C's PT at the school on Monday and schedule a time to go down and evaluate C, measure her, etc to determine exactly what kind of chair and cushions she needs. That will be done before they can get authorization from our insurance company, but it seems our insurance company has a good track record of approving mobility assistive devices from that company when a doctor orders them (no small miracle there!). The insurance company typically covers $3,500 of the cost of the chair, which should be enough, unless it's determined that she needs custom molded cushions as opposed to just regular cushions that are cut to size and placed strategically for her needs, so there's a chance this new chair could cost us nothing, which would be an enormous miracle. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that there's any chance we could get the chair before we leave for the holidays on Dec. 20, because we use our current wheelchair heavily while traveling, and it would just be fantastic to have the new one ready in time for our trip!
I foolishly bought "one last" gift for my husband for Christmas, even though I couldn't afford it. It's something I know he wants, though, so it'll be worth it when he opens it and bursts with childlike excitement over the silly thing. I'm having all of his gifts shipped to my parents' house in Texas, which is where we'll be spending Christmas. His anniversary and birthday presents are going there, too, as we'll still be visiting there when those special days roll around.
For our anniversary, which happens to fall on New Year's Eve, we'll be staying at the same hotel we stayed on our wedding night, with the same view of the river and the fireworks that are set off over the river at midnight. My mom is babysitting C overnight, so we'll get to go out to dinner and/or drinks if we like, have a romantic night in a luxurious room, and try to remember what it's like to be a couple instead of just parents. Sometimes it's difficult to be both, and parenting always seems to come first, so it should be a really good night off for us. I can't wait! Plus, the next morning is his birthday, so he can open anniversary and birthday presents all in the hotel room, and I won't have my mom looking over shoulders grumbling about how I spent too much money on gifts. ;)
Ceili's school didn't send home any art projects this week, which was a bit of a disappointment. Some weeks, they send home a few things on Thursdays, and then other times, they wait a few weeks and send home a whole bag of stuff all at once. I guess they'll be sending a bag one of these weeks, so I can at least look forward to that, but I just burst with pride when those things come home from school, especially since she's doing more and more of the work by herself, and I can see her influence expressed in the art. Looking at her fingerpaintings, I can see her in my mind, hands covered in paint, smearing the page and squealing with utter delight. That's half the joy of getting her work.
I missed the post-Thanksgiving weekend 60% off custom framing at Michaels, so I'm going to have to wait for their next framing special to get a favorite fingerpainting and her first completely solo watercolor done with a paintbrush framed to hang in the hallway. I intend to turn the hall walls into a C museum with all of my favorite works. She's getting watercolors for Christmas this year, so she'll even have some homemade works to hang on the wall. (I need the hallway because, let's face it, a refrigerator door just isn't big enough to showcase all of the artistic masterpieces made by an only child with special needs!)
I've been plugging LakeshoreLearning.com on Twitter lately, and with good reason. They have an amazing array of toys and furniture that are perfect for parents or educators of children with a variety of special needs, and many of C's Christmas presents are coming from there. The biggie was the sand and water table I ordered on Nov. 28 that arrived at my door just FOUR DAYS later, on Dec. 2. I'm not going to set it up in her room until after we get home from Texas, but she is going to LOVE that. The water table is her favorite station at school, so I know it's the perfect Christmas gift for her. I'm going to have to get creative about covering the carpet in her room, though, or I'll never be able to get the sand out of it! ;)
Saturday, November 26, 2011
A Kid-Free Anniversary
The hubby and I got married on New Year's Eve. This year will mark our fifth anniversary. We got married in Austin (where my parents live), and we spent our first married night at the Hyatt Regency on Town (now Lady Bird) Lake, where we watched the fireworks over the lake from our beautiful hotel room.
This year, we're going to Austin for Christmas, and my mom suggested that we stay through our anniversary. She volunteered to watch C for the night so that we could go stay at the same hotel where we spent our first married night, in a room with a river view, where we can relax and enjoy a kid-free anniversary and watch the fireworks over the lake.
This is why my mom is awesome. Also because the hotel wasn't accepting reservations from non-preferred customers (they had booked all their regular people rooms), but she not only got us a reservation; she spent a week calling to try and get us the very same room where we stayed on our wedding night. My mom is really and truly fantastic.
I'm looking forward to a night with my husband without the kiddo. I'm thinking a fancy dinner at a restaurant where we could never take our often-noisy and ever-destructive offspring, and a quiet night with a bottle of champagne in the room to ring in the new year.
New Year's Day just also happens to be my wonderful husband's birthday, so we'll get to sleep in, maybe get room service for a birthday breakfast in bed, and start the day without any stress, knowing our daughter is in good hands while we take a short time-out from parenting. I am very much looking forward to our kid-free anniversary, because who knows when (if ever) we'll have this sort of opportunity again?
This year, we're going to Austin for Christmas, and my mom suggested that we stay through our anniversary. She volunteered to watch C for the night so that we could go stay at the same hotel where we spent our first married night, in a room with a river view, where we can relax and enjoy a kid-free anniversary and watch the fireworks over the lake.
This is why my mom is awesome. Also because the hotel wasn't accepting reservations from non-preferred customers (they had booked all their regular people rooms), but she not only got us a reservation; she spent a week calling to try and get us the very same room where we stayed on our wedding night. My mom is really and truly fantastic.
I'm looking forward to a night with my husband without the kiddo. I'm thinking a fancy dinner at a restaurant where we could never take our often-noisy and ever-destructive offspring, and a quiet night with a bottle of champagne in the room to ring in the new year.
New Year's Day just also happens to be my wonderful husband's birthday, so we'll get to sleep in, maybe get room service for a birthday breakfast in bed, and start the day without any stress, knowing our daughter is in good hands while we take a short time-out from parenting. I am very much looking forward to our kid-free anniversary, because who knows when (if ever) we'll have this sort of opportunity again?
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