The Sleepover That Never Was

Ever since my neighbor, Michelle, planted the seed a few weeks ago, all Little Man and his buddy S2 have talked about is having a sleepover. S2 is Michelles' son and the two boys play together non-stop. Last night, we decided--was the night. Little Man was so excited, he ran upstairs to pack his stuff. We walked over to S2's house--- little man was pulling his rolling suitcase behind him. I walked him into the house and put his stuff in S2's room. Little Man was all cool and collected--as much as a 5 year old can be--when saying goodnight to me. After kisses and hugs, I walked home with mixed emotions. Sad that my baby is growing up, but proud of my kids---who aren't afraid to stay away from home for one night ( like so many other kids I know). Well, I barely had time to change my clothes and eat dinner, when the phone rang. "We're going to be walking Llittle Man back home," Michelle said. "He's not ready." When I opened to front door a few minutes later, there stood 2 very sad boys, eyes filled with tears. Little man was sad because he had been afraid at S2's house and wanted to come home. S2 was sad because the sleepover that he had anticipated for weeks ...Never came to be. I guess we'll have to try it again, but this time at our house.

My Girly Girl

Princess turned 6 on May 8th. How that happened, I'm not sure. It's almost like she grew up overnight. Right now her life is all about Webkinz, Playing the Wii--(she can kick anyone's ass in Tennis), Listening to her iPod, playing her Nintendo DS, and watching Hannah Montana. I can already tell you that this one is going to be a heartbreaker and I pity any boy who dates her. She is a girly girl. She likes bling, jewerly, clothing, and Shoes. Oh yes, the shoes! She has a shoe fetish like no other. Which is exactly why we got her a pair of Lelli Kelly's for her birthday. I have never seen a little girl so exicted to get an article of clothing for her birthday! She walks around the house singing "Lelli Kelly's the prettiest shoes." She has worn them every day since and for $72 she better run them until they lose their sparkle. Oh and boys, be forewarned, she also loves Lobster Tails. She will not be a cheap date.

Rollercoaster Ride

What an emotional rollercoaster today has been. I drove 40 minutes to work and 45 minutes after I got there, I got a call from Dr. Zgrabik. The Neuro Opthamologist at the Cleveland Clinic wanted to see Princess as soon as possible. That sentence alone--caused a flurry of emotions in me and I just lost all control of rational thinking. What did they know---that they weren't telling me??? Thank goodness I have a wonderful boss, I didn't have to say much and he told me to "go, call if you need anything. " I drove the 40 minutes back to the school--mostly in tears, to pick up Princess. I saw Roo in the Hall and not wanting to scare her, just told her that I needed to take Princess to the doctor. Not a minute later---here comes Princess, skipping down the hall saying "Mommy." Absolutely no idea--how long her day is about to become. We met Mulley at home and then all 3 of us drove together. I did not want to be alone today. Once we got there--we started a waiting game. Thank goodness for large fish tanks and Spongebob Squarepants. We waited almost 2 hours---before we were even seen. In their defense--we arrived just as the doctor was going to lunch. Mulley and I were both starving as neither of us had lunch. Another thing I'm grateful for---100 calorie packs that fit in my purse. ;)
Once we were seen, they put Princess through a series of tests, then sent us back to the waiting area. About 20 minutes later, they called us again. This time we met the doctor--who did more tests. It seemed like it was tests, waiting , tests, waiting, etc. At one point--one of the assistants started doing a vision test that another assistant had completed only 20 minutes before. I tried to tell her, but she didn't catch on until Princess said,"I just did this!" Then came the dialating of the pupils--that was a little rough, 4 drops in each eye--2 that burned. After awhile, we were called back to see the doctor. They are calling it Sixth Nerve Palsy. It's usually brought about by a virus--but we are not sure how Princess got it as she hasn't been sick with the flu or earaches. The doctor said "Let's call it a fluke." Words I will never forget. He told us that he was not going to put her through and MRI. They are serious business--she would need to be sedated and he didn't think it was necessary. Her eyes are functioning completely normal--like nothing ever happened. He told us that Double Vision could mean a brain tumor, but in Princesses case--he is certain that she is not in danger of that and if he thought she was, he'd do an MRI in an instant. If her vision problems come back---he will do one immediately. I really trust both doctors who were recommended to us. They explained everything to Mulley and I. I'm not sure I feel 100% better, but I'm okay for now. I've spent that last 48 hours on this awful rollercoaster ride of emotions and my heart goes out to any parents that have children who are seriously ill. So for now, we are out of the woods and I hugging my children a little tighter tonight.

I can't even imagine

What I will do if this MRI comes back showing something. This weekend we had a bit of a scare with Princess. She woke up on Saturday and said that I had two heads. Thinking she was just being silly---I kind of brushed it off. Well, she continued. Saying I had 4 eyes, 2 noses, Roo had 2 heads, etc. I looked closely at her eyes and they just looked weird, ya know?? One eye was focusing straight at me and the other was turned towards her nose. Almost like she was cross eyed. I had Mulley come and take a look---His response was, "That just isn't right!" Note to self--never go on WebMD to look up something that concerns one of your family members. It just freaks you out. I called my mom---always need mom's opinion. She recommened an Opthamologist. Well, they wanted her to come in immediately--thank goodness we live 2 minutes away--because neither of us were dressed yet. They ran a series of tests. Princess preceded to tell the Doctor's assistant that " she had two heads side by side" and when the assistant turned around, she told her, " Oh--now one head is behind the other. " I know Princess had no clue what everyone was making a fuss over and actually thought it was kind of funny. The Opthamologist explained that it looks as though Princess has some strain on her sixth optic nerve. Usually it's caused by migraines, vaccinations, or an illness. Well, McKenna did complain of a headache on Monday. I never even gave thought to a 5 year old getting migraines though. I'm still not sure if it was. The Doctor recommened us to a Pediatric Neuro Opthamologist and most likely they will do an MRI. I'm worried and scared. Hoping for the best and scared that they will tell me something that will shake me to the core. What will I do, if her MRI shows that something is there??? I don't even want to think about it.

Priceless

$260 4 Concert Tickets
$90 3 Concert T-shirts
$30 3 Battery Operated Glow Lights
$40 2 Concert Programs
$14 Snacks and Drinks at the Concession Stand
$20 Dinner at McDonald's before the show

Taking my girls to see the most sought after ticket of year: PRICELESS!


That's right, tonight I took my girls and my 12 year old niece to see Hannah Montana! How did I manage to get those tickets you say? Luck!! And a wonderful thing called a "presale code." By buying the Hannah Montana 2 CD for 11.98, I was able to get a 1-month free trial to the Miley World Website. Along with membership, I got a code that allowed me to "attempt" to buy tickets the day before they went on sale to the public. Well, when the day finally arrived, I made sure to enter my address and cc info into Ticketmaster and save it. I logged on at 9:58 and hit the submit button shortly thereafter. I think my heart stopped when my computer screen told me I had Club Level seats! Now I could have easily turned around and sold those seats for $1500-$2000. But for me, I wanted my kids to have the memories. Yes, I'm a sap like that.
I remember being so afraid that someone was going to steal the tickets in the mail--before they were ever delivered to me. Once I got them, I had to keep it a secret for 2 1/2 months. Keeping a secret is very hard for me, but I did it. My girls knew the concert was sold out and poor R kept trying to win tickets through one of the local tv stations. I surprised them with the tickets on Christmas Morning! I'll post a few pics tomorrow, I haven't finished downloading them yet.

Happy 2008

I've made several New Year's resolutions this year. One of them seems to be my resolution every year and every year, I break it. I'm really hoping that this is the year I break that trend. I really, really, want to get in shape and lose weight. I'm going to be 40 this year. 40! I told myself years ago, that by the time I was 40:

1.) I would have lost the baby weight ( 3 kids back to back wasn't necessarily good on my body.)
2.) I would be in a good place in my career. ( I think I'm there--after 9 long, hard, years.)
3.) I would have more time for me. (this might be true, if I would get off the internet.)

I have 11 months until I turn 40, so I'll be damned if I can't make this work. Stay on me people!