Esotropia/Amblyobia and Some New Glasses

My oldest has an eye condition called Esotropia.  Basically, he is extremely far sighted in one eye, and his brain started preferring to use the other eye (also far sighted - just not as bad) to see.  As a result, the brain would stop using the bad eye and it would turn in when he was younger, which is Amblyopia.  He has been in glasses since he was four because of this, and we also had to patch the good eye to force the brain to start using the bad eye again.  Those pirate days are behind us now and he now just has really poor eyesight :)

It is time for new glasses and for this first time in his life, he was able to shop from the men section!  Who can believe he's turning into a man right before my eyes?  As most of you with glasses know, the men's section has so many more options than the kids section.  I can't wait to pick up his new pair next week, because he is going to be stylin' in high school next year!

Skechers BOBS?? And .... My Thoughts on Henny Penny

I would normally put something like this on my Facebook status; but since I'm on an indefinite FB fast, you'll have to deal with reading about it here.

I just saw my first commercial for Skechers BOBS.  As usual, I'm late finding out about things, so maybe everyone else has seen the the commercial or is wearing a pair right now.  If you haven't, though, imagine a pair of TOMS. 

Now, imagine that the little tag on the side said BOBS instead of TOMS, and you'd have a pair of BOBS.  Seriously!  I have no idea why this irked me so, since I am one of the few in this country who doesn't own a pair of TOMS.  Did they have to make them look exactly the same, even with a sort of the same name?

I guess in the end, Skechers is doing a great thing, also, as they are also giving away a pair of shoes for every pair of BOBS we consumers buy.  Actually, according to the Soles4Souls website, they give away two pairs of shoes for every pair you buy.  The statement below was taken from the site:

BOBS by Skechers

The philosophy is simple; the potential impact is huge. Buy a pair of BOBS and SKECHERS will give 2 pairs to children in need through Soles4Souls. First donations will begin Summer 2011.

A lifestyle footwear leader and a trusted brand around the globe, SKECHERS has taken this philosophy to heart. Inspired by the good deeds of others, SKECHERS believes they can make an impact that’s unsurpassed – reaching more children worldwide than ever before. 

 

So what do you think?  Ripoff or the more the merrier?


In other totally unrelated news:  my daughter checked out Henny Penny from the school library today.  Can you believe that I didn't know the story of Henny Penny?  I thought I knew it.  I knew the famous line, "The sky is falling, I must go tell the King!"  I even knew some of the characters like Turkey Lurkey and Ducky Lucky.  However, I did not know that all of the other characters get eaten by Foxy Loxy and to tell you the truth, I really didn't see that one coming.  So I guess in all my years, I have never read Henny Penny!  Can you believe it?  It's really not a good story, maybe that's why my Mother never told it to me as a child; or maybe I chose to block it out of memory.  My daughter loved it though, so much that we had to read it a second time.  And if I know her, we will read it another 30 times before returning it to the library next week.

Growing Up

I had my first born son just a few years ago.  I'm not sure where the time went, but he turned 14 this past weekend.  This week I am meeting with a counselor about his high school schedule.  Yes, high school!  He wanted to know if he could invite some friends over to celebrate his day; I agreed, but only his closest friends.  When I was that age I had three close friends.  I'm not sure if I was just not a friendly person (like I am in my old age) or if his definition of close is a bit looser than mine.  He had 9 friends over to spend the night.  With my kids, that was 15 wild ones staying up all night.  Well, one had to go home early, so it was really only 14.

I didn't want to put a clear picture of up the other kids, not knowing if their moms would appreciate that or not.  I do want to point out that the kid on the far right is the boy who fell out of our tree ... and his Mom actually let him back in my house!

It was a fun weekend, he had a great birthday, and he's already looking forward to getting his learner's license next year.

Pollen

The following pictures are for my good friend, who moved to Indiana a few years back; and who I know misses the Georgia pollen dearly.

I didn't capture the yellow sidewalks and porches and cars before our big rain over the weekend; but I did snap some photos for you afterwards, when the waters "washed" the pollen away.

You might be enjoying pollen-less days, but our azaleas and dogwoods are in full bloom down here.  Be jealous.

In my carport

On the hood of the truck

In the driveway

Why I Left Facebook, and Why I Came Back

I've known for awhile now that Facebook was slightly creepy, and also that I was addicted to it.  I faced the fact that is was, indeed, really creepy when I saw a little boy at church (I am FB friends with his Mom) and when I said hi to him, he replied with, "How do you know my name?"  I told him I knew his Mom.  What I really thought was, boy ... I know what sheet set you sleep on and what your working on in school right now because yo mama post everything you do on FB!!  Then two weeks ago I saw a stranger - well he didn't know me anyway - but I knew his name and things about him, all because of FB friends who post things about this guy.  I then declared that enough is enough, life is better with a little mystery; and FB was a time sucker anyway. 

Let's face it, even though I know it's strange to know everything about some people, I couldn't get enough.  Just like the covers of magazines in the check out lines, I would log in to see what the latest gossip was.  I would look up my kid's teachers.  I would hear something about someone I didn't know and I'd look them up just to have a face with the name.  Pathetic.

The first couple of days without FB were kind of hard.  I was addicted to logging on, just "to see" if I had any notifications.  I sat at night watching TV with the iPad in hand with nothing to do.  However, after the 4th or 5th day, I realized I didn't really care anymore.  Goodbye FB, goodbye drama, goodbye teenagers posting poetic lyrics to songs.

But then .... yesterday I got a sweet card in the mail with an unexpected gift.  Guess what the only way I knew how to get in touch with the lady who gave it to me; yup ... Facebook.  I seriously didn't have her number or her email address.  So today, I caved and reactivated my account.  Be proud, I went straight to her wall and wrote a thank you, then straight to my account to change my email settings.  Now, I will get an email if someone friends me, messages me, or writes on my wall.  I will not log on just to snoop.  I will not post stupid statuses anymore.  We'll see how long this lasts.

The Book 7

Through a blog post I was emailed, I found this book 7.   I picked it up last night and I am loving it so far. I'm only on page 30 and already am convicted about how much I waste.  I won't bore you with a description, if your interested you can click on the link to read more.  But I did want to share it with you, because I have a feeling I'm going to love this book and it might just be a life changer.

Such a Funny Video

I happened to look up Field of Dreams on IMDB the other day, and Field of Dreams 2 popped up on the auto-finisher.  I scoffed and couldn't believe they would even try to make a second one.  Then I realized it was just a short and a spoof - and a funny one at that.  Check it out.

I'm Older

I know this isn't a good picture, but I wanted you to see what laziness looks like.  Do you see how my boys put patio chairs on a see saw?  I guess it's just too hard to sit up straight for too long.

It's also been a crazy mild winter.  The azaleas are already in bloom, the AC has had to be turned on upstairs, and the younger ones have been begging to go swimming.  While it's not quite warm enough for a pool, Derek did concede to let them wash his motorcycle and get a little wet.

In other news, I turned 36 a few weeks ago.  It was probably the best birthday I've had in at least a year.  I had a facial, a massage, a steak dinner cooked by my wonderful Mother, my favorite cake - a pound cake, and a date with my man to Avenue Q.  However, two days later, I found a long hair on my chin and it all went to pot.  This getting older is for the birds.

Bye Bye Puppies

It was time to give the puppies away this past weekend.  Ole Blue Eyes (pictured below) was such a beautiful boy that I just knew he'd be the first to go.  Can you believe he was the last to be picked?  Even the runt with a bad back leg was chosen before him!

It only took an hour and a half to give them away sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot.  If that's all it takes, then why get Tippy fixed?  I think we should just let her have a few more litters because it's so much fun.  No, I guess we'll make Bob Barker proud and do the right thing by controlling the pet population.

Favorite Foto of my Week:

Anna Ruby Falls

On our way home from our little two day getaway, we stopped by Anna Ruby Falls in Helen, GA.  It was a nice, enjoyable little stroll along Smith Creek that ended at a double waterfall, which according to the books and websites is rare.

It was only .4 mile to the falls, but you could keep going on another trail if you wanted, which the kids tried to talk us into.  It's "only 5 miles".  Their young bodies can't comprehend the pain "only 5 miles" would cause me .... and also none of them seemed to notice the 10 miles round trip section of the sign.  Good thing that I read things all the way through.

There were benches, deemed "Flintstone Chairs" by my kids, scattered along the path, so there was plenty of opportunity to rest.

It was worth the stop to Anna Ruby Falls.  The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful.  If you're ever near Helen, I highly recommend going.  It did cost money, but only $2 per person over 12.  Good thing half of us are still under the paying age!

Winter Break Getaway

We took a little trip to Amicalola Falls over the weekend and had a great time just getting away.  On Friday, we went out for a "small" morning hike to see the falls.  Little did I know that really the only way to see the falls good was to go on the trail with steps.  Lots of steps.  604 steps.  We started at the top, since going down 604 steps sounded easier to me than going up them. 



View from the top of the stairs.



I'd like to say that I stayed behind with my little one to help her, but it was really the other way around.  By the time this picture was taken, all of the other kids were at the bottom while I was probably only about 100 steps down.

Really, though, the view was worth it.  Isn't it beautiful? 

Once we made it to the bottom of the 1 mile trail, my son found a map that showed several other ways to the top.  Since I wasn't too keen on climbing back up those stairs, I was willing to let him navigate.  I wish I had paid better attention to the map myself, or maybe listened to my son a little better, because the 1.5 mile hike through the woods up the mountain took us back to ..... the bottom of the 604 steps.  Lucky for me, the trail met up with a parking lot next the road before it met the stairs.  A lady happened to be there when I came huffing out of the woods and felt sorry for me, so she drove me up the rest of the mountain to our van.



Notice the short sleeves and tank top .... what a crazy "winter" we are experiencing here in Georgia. 



Taking one of my many rests during that hike.

After eating a nice lunch and getting my energy back, my sister, Kim, and her family drove up to visit us.  Can you guess what we did together?  That stupid trail next to the falls.  Since Kim doesn't do going down stairs well (she takes them like a toddler, where both feet have to meet together on each step .... I don't blame her, she took a pretty nasty fall down some stairs several years ago that ended in a pretty bad break complete with rod and screws in her leg) I decided to go up the trail with her from the bottom.  I ended up climbing those 604 steps after all.  You wouldn't believe the soreness I experienced the next two days after all that hiking and all those stairs. 

The day we left, they had some animals at the visitor's center!  This vulture was out front and I thought he was pretty cute .... for a vulture.

The little guy below is Gizmo, a screech owl.  I thought this picture was hilarious, because I think Gizmo looks a lot like Dale. 

You can see how tiny and cute he is compared to my son's head.  Or .... the owl could be normal sized and my boy has a crazy big head.

They had several snakes behind glass that the kids enjoyed looking at, and one of the employee's brought Elvis, the king snake, out to let them pet. 

We also saw a beautiful Great Horned Owl (above).  We have an owl that hangs out around our neighborhood and when I told the people what it's call sounded like, I found out that my friend is a Barred Owl, like the one below.

It was a great trip, and I'm looking forward to the full use of my legs again.

I grilled some steaks a few weeks back in the dark.  Looking out the kitchen window, I saw clumps of fire dropping out of the grill on our patio, but didn't think much about it.  It wasn't until I went to turn off the flame and the knob wouldn't budge, that I knew something had happened.  The only way to turn it off was to turn off the gas.  When Derek came home, I told him about it and said, "It's almost like the knob melted."

When we went outside with the flood lights turned on to see the damage, we found this:

So, yep .... I'm pretty sure the knob melted!  Below is what I saw falling to the ground, I'm guessing melted plastic.

Now that our grill is useless, you wouldn't believe how much I've been wanting and craving shish kabobs! 

An Accident....and Why I Hate Facebook

     A few of my son's friends stopped by today, with me being unprepared for company with no food and a dirty house.  I ran to the grocery to get some essentials like soda, chips, and plastic cups.  On the way back home, an ambulance flies past me and I see him turn down my road.  That's really not unusual as we live pretty close to the hospital and emergency vehicles go up and down the road all the time.  However, this ambulance stops right in front of my house!!!  It turns out in the 15 minutes I was gone, that one of the friends fell out of our magnolia tree from about 20 feet up and landed on his neck. 

     Let me tell you, you DO NOT want experience the feeling of driving home to an ambulance and firetruck in front of your house, and seeing the paramedics rushing into your yard with a gurney.  At our hospital, it is protocol to take a minor with a head injury to the Children's Hospital in Atlanta.  They won't even do an x-ray in fear of doing damage.  So they life flighted him to Atlanta!  While it was serious and I am by no means belittling the fall, I'm not really sure an ambulance and helicopter were necessary.  However, it is better to be safe than sorry, right?

     It turns out that he is fine.  He broke his ankle and has a concussion and they are keeping him overnight for observation since he lost consciousness.  I'm so thankful he wasn't hurt anymore than that!  I'm also grateful for his understanding parents know that accidents happen and they aren't mad at us.

     Now on to Facebook.  So the rest of the boys were shook up, but just like kids, are able to cut up and still have some fun after the boy left.  Especially since he was talking and acting fine by the time he left.  I happened to go on Facebook about an hour later and it's blown up amongst some of their friends about what happened.  None of the kids at my house called anybody and of course the kid strapped to the gurney didn't call anybody .... so how in the world did word get out???  Within a few hours, the 8th graders at their school have the boy falling 30 feet from a tree and hanging on to life by a thread.  By tonight, kids have posted pictures of their hands in the shape of hearts for their dear friend, who according to them might not pull through.  Boy, does news travel through the grapevine a lot quicker in this day and age with social networking!

     And since I like to put pictures in my posts, I will leave you with some pictures of Derek and the girls, who went on a daddy/daughter date night at Chick-fil-A and then to Beauty and the Beast 3D afterwards. 

My Take on Movie Reviewers

Derek and I love going to the movies. Yes, it's highly overpriced. Yes, the cost of popcorn is ridiculous. And, yes, we love it. We usually go to the theaters every week, thanks to an awesome father-in-law who keeps all six kids.  Because of this, I'm usually going to Yahoo or Rotten Tomatoes to check out user reviews of movies to help us decided which one to go to.



Do you want to know what I can't stand?  People who write movie reviews that haven't even seen the movie they are reviewing.  For example, I was reading a user review on The Grey last week.  This lady (not even seeing the film) gave the movie 1 star because it falsely portrays wolves as predators of humans.  Really?!?  I just read another write up of The Woman in Black where the reviewer saw the play when he was a youngster, and the preview of the film just doesn't look as good to him.  Again, really??

I will say that if you're in the mood for a different kind of movie, go see The Artist.  It's a black and white silent film that is absolutely charming, and it had me enthralled from the moment it started to the minute it ended.