Bad Mommy

There are times I think I'm doing ok with the whole "Mom" thing. Then there are days when I realize I have no idea what I'm doing.

For months my 8 year old daughter complained about trouble seeing the writing on the whiteboard at school. As a teacher, I know the glare from a projector on a shiny whiteboard can pose problems for viewing from certain angles. I wrote off her complaints.

Her whining grew louder and more frequent, and I realized her friend had recently gotten glasses. "Aha!" I said to myself, "She just wants to get glasses like her pal J."

Finally, my husband and I agreed to take her to the eye doctor for an exam. We figured with his good vision coverage through work, it was worth the $25 to shut her up. After all, her screenings at school and at the pediatrician had never indicated any cause for concern.

Well, the verdict is in...

My daughter is almost legally blind!

She is painfully myopic in both eyes, and the eye doctor said he was surprised she didn't make us get her in much sooner! When we picked up her glasses, the things she started noticing blew me away. She never knew the overhead signs at the grocery store told you what items are found on each aisle. She is fascinated by the different colors and textures of the individual strands of carpet in her classroom, which always looked solid grey to her before. She loves to study the details of a leaf on a plant, which previously looked like flat green shapes.

My poor little girl is only now discovering whole, huge chunks of life today, because I finally took her to an eye doctor. I feel like the world's worst mommy, especially when I think about the fact that the main reason for taking her in was just to shut her up!

Oh, the guilt!

So Much Bigger Than Me

As I sit here at home, trying to recover from this weekend's ickiness, I found myself with a little spare time to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogs. Like a wonderful, wandering path leading nowhere in particular, the links on blogs often take me on unexpected journeys. Today I ended up somewhere that rocked my world.

This website is amazing. The author is a gifted writer. Even more impressive is the incredible grace and strength with which she is facing one of the most difficult situations any mother could ever encounter.

I am extending my prayers for this family of strangers right now, and hope you will too.

ICK!!!

My sweet sister-in-law came over on Friday night and cooked an amazing dinner of bruschetta, salad, and chicken fettucini alfredo for us. It was fantastic, and such a nice way to end a crazy-busy week. It was also nice to spend some time with my husband's brother and his wife.

Fast-forward to about midnight Saturday night...

All of us, except for Devin, have the same, er...symptoms. Devin passed on the chicken on Friday night.

Yes folks, it's food poisoning!

Paulina and I were physically unable to get out of bed all day Sunday. Poor Kevin, who is just as ill, had to take care of his two sick girls and deal with the rambunctious 6 month old Connor, who was not about to let anyone else's digestive complaints get in the way of his fun!

Thank God Devin has befriended the little girl who lives 3 houses down from us. She spent most of the day yesterday at her friend's house while the rest of us felt like rolling into little balls of yuckiness. That sweet family even fed my daughter yesterday afternoon, knowing that we were a house full of sickies.

I love my sister-in-law, but I am now seriously considering the advantages of veganism.

You Go Girl!

Full disclosure...I've known this girl since we were teenagers. I have personally watched her work her butt off for every nickel she has, and saw her go through some very lean times. I count her among my truest of friends, so I have to brag when things go well for her. I know she has earned it, every single good thing that comes to her!

Not only is her second book being prepared for release this year (click here to check out her first release), but she has a line of cosmetics coming out this spring! I am so proud of my dear friend.

Now the really good part: I got freebies! Yup, I got my hands on samples of the brand new cosmetics line Carmindy has created in partnership with Sally Hansen. It is all natural, and best of all for me it is free of parabens. I have struggled with extremely sensitive skin for my whole adult life, and parabens are the one thing guaranteed to give me an instant breakout. They're one reason I rarely wear lipstick or gloss. The parabens give me little bumps around my mouth! Well, I found a fat envelope in my mail last night and inside was a handful of glosses and lip colors from her new line. I love them! I can't wait to try out the rest of Carmindy's Natural Beauty line.

Yay Carmindy!

Lost in a Good Book

OK, it has been a while since I have found myself totally absorbed in a book. I'm talking can't put it down, losing track of all time and staying up until 3 AM reading. During one of my recent decluttering fits, I came across a bunch more gift cards for a major book store chain (thanks students!). Of course, did I think to use them at the start of my week-long Spring Break? No, I waited until Saturday evening. I grabbed a paperback copy of a recent bestseller that has been made into a movie coming out soon...

OH

MY

GOSH!!!

I am absolutely sucked in to the world of this book.

It is beautiful, brutal, heartbreaking, lovely, and one of the best reads in a long time. Be warned, there is some tough material in there. I don't get off on violence, but it is a key element to the plot, not gratuitous for its own sake.

I love this book so far. If only I'd started reading it before I had to go back to work. These 3 AM bedtimes aren't working well for me!

Sleepy Time

I really should be in bed right now, but here I am, awake at 1:00 AM, obsessively checking my Eb@y and Cr@igslist listings. I know there are people who support 3 dozen children off the income generated by online auctions and selling their stuff through Cr@igslist, but seriously, this is hard! People want to get a good deal. I understand that, I'm all about the bargain shopping (Hello? Slickde@ls-dot-net, anyone?). But come on people! I paid $30 for this maternity blouse and you want to give me a quarter for it? Get real!

I have no clue how people can generate a livable income off this kind of thing.

For now, I'm just happy to be decluttering my home and making a few bucks in the process. I only wish it was a few MORE bucks.

New Background

As I get more into this blogging thing, I find more and more cool stuff to play with! I stumbled across a great website (another blog, actually) run by a gal who designs these adorable backgrounds. They are free and so simple to add. It's like playing dress-up with my blog!