Julianna and her specs

I've been terrible about blogging lately. I have plenty to talk about but no time to sit down and write it down. Today I have a few minutes. I am going to try and get a few more blog posts recorded. I know that I love reading my old posts and I love having the stories. I just need to be better about sitting down to write.

As you may remember Drew got his first pair of glasses when he was two and a half. Julianna wasn't far behind. She had just turned three when she got her first pair. Her vision is not nearly as bad as Drew's is and her transition to wearing glasses hasn't been as difficult. I think it has something to do with having such a good glasses-wearing role model. She hasn't broken them and she wears them most all of the time.

Julianna is farsighted and cannot see close up. I think story time has become a lot more fun and her letter recognition is already getting much better. I am very grateful that I was so paranoid about my kids and their vision. I did not want my kids to be blind like I was. I guess sometimes being a little bit crazy works to my advantage.

I'm guessing there will never be medical school in Drew's future

Today I had a fasting lab. So, since I couldn't eat anything before of after my run this morning, I was very quick to Lily off to school - 10 minutes early! After dropping Lily off we hurried over to the clinic to get in line. I wanted to be there as early as possible. My mom had warned me that the crowd at the lab first thing in the morning is like a herd of turtles.

All morning Drew had been telling me that he did not want to go with me to the lab. Did. Not. I kept telling him that it wasn't going to take long. Don't worry, it will only take a few minutes. Being the compliant child Drew is, he came along without too much of a fuss. He had dressed himself this morning in his Darth Vader costume and when we arrived in the parking lot he told me he didn't want to wear it in to the building. Turns out, he had to because he was wearing his pajamas underneath, which happened to be what he worn all day yesterday. I told him to keep it on - we'd only be a minute!

It really didn't take long at all. I think we waited about 10 minutes before they called my name. The kids came with me and stood right by my chair. They looked worried, but I was trying to show them that it's not too big of a deal to get a shot or blood drawn. See? Mommy is brave!

Drew stood there. They poked me. He asked me if it hurt. I said, oh, just a tiny pinch. It doesn't hurt me right now. Drew went pale. Drew swayed. Drew went blank. Drew fell foward just as I caught him. They boy had fainted. The lab tech were very nice. She got him an ice pack and offered him juice. He sat on my lap with no color anywhere on his face. His whole body had broken out into a cold sweat, so much so that his hair was wet and he kept saying he was hot. I told the lab techs that I'd carry him and we'd go straight home for some juice. I think he wanted to get out of there.

On the drive home I explained to Drew that what had happened to him was called "fainting" and that it happens to Daddy too. I apologized about 1,000,000 times. He explained the experience to me. He said that everything went blank and then he saw spots all over his body and shoes. He said it was like going blind for a minute. "That's when I got scared."

When we got home I made him a bowl of oatmeal and a tall glass of orange juice. He keeps telling us he's never "failed" before. He keeps forgetting it's called fainting. So, after he finished his oatmeal he asked me if he could watch a little TV. I told him yes and Julianna said she wanted to, too. He said, "No, Julianna. I am the one who failed. I am the only one who can watch TV. I'd never failed before today."

random quotes

Julianna: I'm playing doctor so just call me Dr. Pepper. The baby broken her head and hit her eye.

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Lily: I don't like the movie Dumbo. It is not a nice name. Do you know that "DUMB" is in the name?! Do you realize that?!

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Drew: We need another boy. You should have another baby.
Me: I don't think we can do that.
Drew: Just go to the hospital and pick one up.

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Two days ago I helped Julianna with the front door so she could go play in the yard. A couple of minutes later she started banging on the door yelling for me to open the garage door. I went to the door and told her Drew had gone out to the garage and opened the door. She turned on her heel and ran towards the garage. When she saw that it was open she starting galloping and squealing and laughing wildly. The girl finds joy in all things.

taking precautions

Drew is cautious and likes to keep safety a priority.

Yesterday Drew was planning on taking a short bike ride with Tom before dinner. He spent at least an hour gathering his supplies for staying safe. It started with a bike helmet. He then added a pair of swimming goggles, his shin guards (that he calls soccer cuffs for some unknown reason) and his super hero cape.

When he was all dressed in his safety garb he came to me and said, "Now I can go do something DANGEROUS! I am going to go down the slide in a very dangerous way!" I didn't see it happen, but it must have been dangerous. He came in a few minutes after the trip down the slide and added a plaid flannel shirt to his ensemble. It was 82 degrees yesterday so I was shocked at the flannel. I asked if he was cold. "No, I just needed it for a little extra safety!"

Pepé Le Pew

I workout nearly every morning before the kids get out of bed. I come home from my workouts nearly every morning smelling like flowers. No, really. I do. I did not run this morning. I got the kids ready to go, delivered Lily to school, took my own shower and then loaded kids up for a trip to the library. As we were leaving, I had this conversation:

Drew: Mom, did you take a shower?

Me: Yes.

Drew: Hm. Because something is stinky.

I love my honest, darling, children. No, really. I do.

preparing for the time change

Lily has been getting up with the sun lately. The days are getting longer and the sun has coming up earlier and earlier for awhile. The girl is tired. Thankfully, this morning, it was cloudy. It was so cloudy and she was so tired that I had to go down to her room to wake her up at seven o'clock this morning.

This is how the exchange transpired:

As I lean toward her in bed I say, "Lily, it's seven. It's time to get up and get dressed."

Lily rolls over and stretches her arms out wide without opening her eyes. I say, "Aw, are you thinking about giving me a hug?"

She then pulls her arms up under her covers, rolls over, and without opening her eyes, she says, "No, I was thinking about you leaving."

The sleep was good for her. She managed to get dressed and ready for school without a fight for the first time all week. I love her.

julianna finds her happy place

Julianna had her first swimming lesson today. She was thrilled beyond words.

jumping for joy

Julianna has been saying she was ready to start swimming lessons since she could speak. She has been tagging along to the Y for Drew and Lily's lessons for her whole life. I remember when Drew started his first round of lessons and Julianna was so small that she wasn't even walking yet. It was quite an event to get Lily and Drew showered and dressed with a baby on my hip. (Wow! How did I ever even do that?!)

and laughing wildly

So today was the big day. Today was the very first lesson. She has been talking about it for days now. I wondered to myself if the enthusiasm would wane when we arrived at the pool. It did not. I then wondered if she would become cautious when I left her at the door to make the trek across the pool deck by herself. It did not. Lily was there for a lesson, too, but in true Lily form, it didn't occur to her to wait for her baby sister. No matter, Julianna stepped out there with the "I got this" attitude. I wondered one more time if Julianna would get nervous about getting in the pool. She did not. She was flying high and having a great time. I'd venture to say that Julianna is a true water child.

The showers and dressing after the lesson were worlds easier than back in the day. Drew is sitting out this session of lessons and is annoyed at the rule that everyone must take a summer session of swimming lessons in our family. Lily obviously can take a shower and dress herself no problem. The one locker room development with Lily is that she now dresses herself in the bathroom stall rather than in the common area. Modesty is definitely a new concept for her.

Julianna

Lily had her lesson today too. I was relieved that she didn't bother too much about her earplugs. She still insists on wearing them, but they do not disrupt her lesson. Her strokes looked good and she was obviously glad to be back in the water. She was looking so forward to her lessons today that she tried to wear her swimming suit to school. I caught her just in the nick of time as she was crawling into the van to leave I noticed a swimming suit ruffle peaking out of the top of her pants. She has been known to remove unwanted (but required) clothing once she arrives at school. I'd hate to think about what would have happened if she'd made it to school with her suit hidden under her clothes. That would have been an awkward call from the principal.