Thursday, January 30, 2014

New Look

For the past few months, Barrett has enjoyed living without the worry of glasses.  It's been nice not to have to say "Where did you put your glasses?" and do the whole house search to find them in some odd "they're safe here" place.  

Last week Barrett had an eye doctor appointment.  The night before the appointment he asked me in a rather concerned voice, "Is the doctor going to make me wear glasses again?"  I didn't know he'd even given the appointment a 2nd thought...but obviously it was on his mind.  We talked about the different possibilities of the appointment and then went on about the day.  

At the appointment, his eyes were examined by a nurse and three different doctors.  His vision is 20/20 in his right eye and 20/40 in his left eye.  His eyes are tracking together, however, his right eye focuses first and then his left eye follows suit.  When we were patching and using glasses, his eyes had continually improved, however, over the past few months there was no improvement.  Since we know that with help we can see more improvement in Barrett's vision, Dr. P decided that he needed to go back to glasses.  After 4 months of wearing glasses we'll re-evaluate and then decide if we need to also start patching again.

Barrett was extremely disappointed.  I could see that he was biting back tears when Dr. P was talking.  Instead of crying, he took a deep breath and then went to the store with me to pick out his new glasses.  I let him decide which pair he wanted and he loved these (I think the neon green on the inside helped finalize the decision.
Today was one of those really hard parenting days.  It was hat day at Barrett's preschool...and it was his first day to be back at school with glasses on.  He was a little nervous about the glasses, but I kept telling him how cute he looked and he finally started smiling.  At school I hugged Barrett at the classroom door like normal and started to walk off when I heard one of the little boys say in a loud voice, “Look at Barrett!!!  He looks FUNNY!!!”  I turned around and said to the little 5 year old, “Are you talking about his hat?” and he responded, “No!  His GLASSES!  He looks funny!!!”  Barrett hid his face in my legs and began to sob.  I had to bit my lip to keep from crying myself.  

What had just happened?  I know 5 year olds just say what the think (whether or not it's politically correct)...but he couldn't have said a worse thing!  Here my little boys was already sooooo worried about having to wear glasses...and now a friend is making fun of him!  My first thought was, "How do I help him recover from this?!?"  I knelt down and wrapped my arms around him and began to speak words of encouragement to him.  Soon Mrs. Lisa realized what was going on and joined me in lifting Barrett's spirits.   After a few minutes he walked into class and had a good day (Mrs. Lisa sent me pictures of him having fun today at school to ease my mind).  I, on the other hand, went to the car and cried!

I thought he’d probably forgotten about the entire incident and moved on (like kids easily do), but on our way to soccer I overheard him telling Brody, "A kid at school was making fun of my glasses."  Brody asked, "What did he say?"  Barrett said, "He said they look funny."  Brody said, "Well you know that's not true...right?  They're cool!"  Whew!  I can always count on Brody to stick up for and encourage his little brother.  I'm just praying that he puts more weight in the encouraging words...because I think his glasses are pretty cool too!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Flowers

Today was my 34th birthday.  For the most part it was just like any other day...dr's appt for Barrett, school for Brody, nap time for kids, laundry, etc.  It was also a day where I felt blessed to have such a wonderful family.  We had dinner at Daddy Steve & Namaw's house and then hung out with everyone until it was time to put kids to bed.  When we got home I went to the kitchen to make Bri's bottle.  Suddenly Brody and Barrett both came walking quickly into the kitchen...each carrying a vase of flowers (roses and lilies).

Barrett walked into the room and said, "Momma!  These flowers are for you for your birthday!"
I smiled knowingly at Mike and said, "Thank you boys!!  They're beautiful!"
Barrett said, "Yeah...I walked into our room and there were 2 vases of flowers!  I thought...'we should give these to Momma since it's her birthday'...so that's why we're giving them to you."

That just made me chuckle.  I wonder how he thinks the flowers just appeared in their room?

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Unique Love Note

Barrett just brought me a note from Brody....on toilet paper! Should I get warm fuzzies that my son was thinking about his love for me while on the toilet...or was it just another bedtime stall tactic? Either way...Mike and I somehow managed to hold in our laughter until Barrett was back in his room.  

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Technology is Fun!

This morning Barrett, Bri, and I got to visit Grandmommy and Sharon before school. No, we didn't drive to Temple and back early this morning....we visited via FaceTime!  Grandmommy was on the phone with Sharon when we called her, so she stayed on and relayed everything we said to Sharon....and everything Sharon said to us. I love that they both have iPads now and can easily video chat with us!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

My Hero

Every mom has felt the joy of success and the sting of defeat in the daily responsibility of parenting little ones.  Some days you feel like you have the hang of parenting....while other days you think you're the worst mom on the planet!  I have found that on days where I have really failed...not all is lost.  God put this amazing man in my life who comes in like a superhero and saves the day!  Some days it's when dinner is cooking, patience is thin, and the baby is crying....he gets home and plays with the kids...preventing a "total momma meltdown".  Other times I feel like I have used every disciplinary tool in my box and none of them worked.  I'll call up Mike and he always has just the right advice to give me to get things back under control.  Other times it is his selfless sacrifice that comes to my rescue.  Such was the case last night...

Let me start at the beginning.  On my way home from the grocery store Saturday night I got a text that said, "Come to the boys bathroom when you get here."  Uh oh.  That can't be good.  I hurried in to find Bri in the bathtub and Mike soaked with spit up.  I took over bathing her while he went to the kitchen to clean up the contents of her stomach.  For the next 24 hours Brianna just wanted Mike to hold her.  Yes...she had a stomach bug.  We washed hands constantly and tried hard to keep the boys germ free.  By yesterday I was beginning to think we'd succeeded.  I thought wrong.

At bed last night Barrett announced that his tummy hurt.  I rubbed some essential oils on him and then sent him to bed with a bucket.  At 11:45 he came into my room to tell me his tummy hurt.  I asked if he felt like he was gonna throw up and he said, "I already did...in my bed."  I got out of bed and went to his room using my phone as a flashlight (so as not to wake Brody who was on the bottom bunk).  Not only did he throw up in his bed...he'd taken 50,000 stuffed animals to bed with him and they were casualties of his stomach war.  This is where I totally fail as a momma.  As soon as my flashlight lit up the bed and the stench hit my nostrils...I was helpless.  I felt my own stomach begin to churn and knew I was about to add to the mess if I didn't escape...quick!  I climbed down from the bunk, took some deep breaths, and began to psych myself up.  "I can do this."  I told myself.  Seriously!  I'm a mom!  I should be able to take care of my sick child!  It was at that moment that I heard the dreaded noise...Barrett was getting sick again!

I took a deep breath and left the room heading towards the sound I'd just heard.  It was then that he arrived.  My hero!!!  He walked into the room tall and strong, yet tender and compassionate.  He had to teach a conference the next day, however, his love for me and Barrett compelled him to act heroically and selflessly.  Mike sent me back to bed (knowing that I fail every time I try to tackle the battle of the stomach bug) and began comforting Barrett and cleaning the mess.  He did 3 loads of laundry and sat up with Barrett all night as he got sick again, and again, and again.  Then he showered and dressed and went off to work to host a conference and provide for our family (he even made me coffee before he left!)

I may have failed the mom test (again) last night....but Mike passed the superhero test with flying colors.  I am so blessed to have a man who is so selfless and compassionate.  He is a rock to our family and I'm thankful for every day God gives me to do life with my hero!