Hilton Head

This week Michael and I went to Hilton Head Island for an "end of dental school" trip. Michael's mom very generously agreed to stay with Clara, and she and Michael's youngest sister were so wonderful--they took Clara bicycling, to the science museum here, story time at the library, etc. I'm not sure how much she missed us! It was our longest trip without her (four days and three nights) and we missed her. But we had an absolute blast. Perfect weather, perfect everything. We rented bikes and rode on the beach, went running, watched the sun rise, swam in the pool, read a book together, etc. Truly a vacation to be remembered.

Trip to the lake

We went up to the lake to hang out with some friends last weekend, and we got to take Clara out on the boat--she loved it! The water was rough, but she had a blast, much to our surprise and pleasure. She loved swimming in the lake water as well (I enjoyed it too, minus the squishy mud between my toes and the potential for toe-nibbling fish). Michael also got to try his hand at knee-boarding. Even with the rough water, he finally got up! So awesome!

At the park

Today we went to the park with some sweet friends and enjoyed playing on the playground.
Riding the turtle.
Don't break it, Daddy!
Enjoying a yummy picnic.

On one of Daddy's "fairy rides" with a friend

Blech--this is a long one, so feel free to not read it

WARNING: If you're perfect, stop reading. Now.

Blech . . . I don't know if that's a word, but that describes my current feelings. It's days like this one that remind me of my love-hate relationship with blogs. Do I only post happy things that happen so that for everyone's sake I am focusing on the positive (which we're commanded to do), or do I share my struggles, too? I have been glad I've shared the blog, but then suddenly I think, "Is this a charade? Am I doing this for the right reasons? Maybe I should just quit the whole thing and stop blogging. Goodness knows I probably spend too much time on it." But then I think how much I enjoy reading about the happenings of my friends and family, and so I stick with it. Plus it's nice to have an outlet for writing.

Anyway, this morning started out reasonably well, with Clara's last visit from her special education teacher (who comes to our house once a week) for the school year. She has been a good teacher and very patient with Clara. Then my friend Cari invited me to go swimming. I confess I was pretty leery because last summer Clara did NOT enjoy swimming. We had even gotten a membership to the Family Y to make the summer more enjoyable, but there was just too much going on--kids running and splashing, the water too cold, etc. Just too crazy for Clara (and for me, quite frankly). Anyway, this time, Clara LOVED it! It was such a neat moment for me to see her enjoying it so much (even though the water was pretty chilly!). She had a blast. She didn't even mind it when the other kids splashed, and she interacted more with the other children and adults. The experience created a very special memory for me.

Clara has been doing better socially--she hasn't been hitting as much if another child gets too close to her, she's often been making better eye contact with other children and adults and interacting a lot more. She seems to be enjoying their company more, whereas before (and still now, sometimes) she preferred to spend her time alone while the other kids played. One of the heartbreaking things to see, though, is that she can't really carry on a conversation and often has a hard time answering the other kids' or adults' questions. That kills me. But she is getting better at not just repeating the question and actually answering occasionally. I am very proud of her.

Yesterday she had OT, and Claudia talked to me more about her motor planning problems and how they'll be something she'll struggles with her entire life. Talk about depressing. (Of course Claudia didn't mean to be discouraging, but that's how I felt!) I am encouraged in many ways, and then discouraged in others, like when she destroys something (read: tears apart a styrofoam tube with her teeth, chews and destroys part of a Russian nesting doll (which I had tested for lead and YES, it had lead in it--but that's another story entirely) the way an 18-month-old would. I am scared to start potty training because I know that it's going to be hard.

Sometimes I just feel like "blech," you know? Or maybe you don't know. Maybe no one ever feels like that but me! But I have to remember all the wonderful blessings of motherhood, such as, such as . . . um, what are they exactly? OKAY, I'm KIDDING. I don't think that it's motherhood, necessarily, that is difficult, but rather just life in general that is challenging, no matter your marital status, the development of your children, or the season of life you're in . . . the "dailyness," as one book I read puts it. And then I am reminded of quotes like this one by John W. Gardner: "Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well." When I think about the women I admire most (namely the women in my family), that is exactly what they do. So dadgum it, I need to be thrilled to just be doing the ordinary things. I don't know if in this life I will be able to do them extraordinarily well, but at least I can take comfort in the idea that I don't need to aim for extraordinary happenings but instead try to enjoy the ordinary. That really would be excellent, wouldn't it!?

Strawberries!

This past week we went to a strawberry farm and picked strawberries. They let us eat as many as we wanted as we picked, and they were fabulous.

Keeping it real

I want to make sure that I disillusion any who read our blog by occasionally posting horrifying, real-life pictures. This is me if I brush my curls out.
I wish I could say these were doctored on my computer. They're not.
My "wingspan," as Michael calls it, is approximately 15 inches.
Braids: the lifesaver for any curly-headed female who doesn't want to look like "Sheena of the Wild" (as my mother puts it) when she doesn't feel like doing her hair properly.

Happy days

Grandparents rock!

Taking a walk

Giddyup, Grandpa!

I need your advice!

I have no idea how many of my friends and family actually check the blog, but I need your help. I purchased a 3 x 5' pink Flokati Pottery Barn rug on eBay back in February. It was new when I purchased it, and I got it for (gulp) $70 (plus S/H). From Pottery Barn directly, it is $99.00 plus S/H.

I have realized in retrospect that (1) it was more money than I needed to spend on a rug for Clara's room; and (2) while it is a beautiful, 100 percent wool rug (from Greece, no less), it sort of sheds. Just little tufts of the wool will pop up around Clara's room. It is annoying, especially when I have to sweep instead of vacuuming them up. So, I've decided to re-sell it, first trying on craigslist before I go to eBay.

Okay, so here are my two questions:

1. How much should I charge for the resale? Should I try to charge what I paid? How low should I go?! I know that it's "up to me," but any input would be fabulous.
2. Should I specify on the posting that "the rug sheds"? Since it is a flokati rug, I would imagine that is expected. I don't think that it is defective or that the wool is deficient. But, I also don't want to be "tricking" people into buying something after which they discover, as I did, that the rug has flaws.

Well, that was more than two questions. But please let me know what you would do in my shoes. And don't tell me I'm an idiot for buying it in the first place and spending so much money. I've learned my lesson! I can only excuse myself by saying that I purchased it in a "oooh, we're moving to a new house" frenzy. Here are some pics:

Michael's Hooding Ceremony and Graduation

Well, Michael is now officially a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD). Pretty crazy!

I have to brag on him: he graduated #1 in his class. All of the festivities yesterday were great, even with all of the running around. Michael's parents were able to come, and I know they are relieved their firstborn didn't become a delinquent. They had a Hooding Ceremony in the morning at a local church, which was nice, and then we went to the Commencement Exercises at the Civic Center. I am so proud of him.

Outside the church.

Amidst the graduates.

The proud parents.

Helping Mommy in the kitchen

Playing with bubbles . . .
Leads to drinking bubbles . . .
Which leads to taking a bath.
Clara often likes to sneak food that I chop. Today I was chopping an onion, and Clara really wanted some. I told her she wouldn't like it, that it was too spicy. Still, she persisted, so I thought I'd let her learn for herself.
She liked it (and ate at least half a tablespoon). Granted, it was a Vidalia onion, but I tried some raw and it was still spicy enough that even now, an hour later, I can still taste it.
I think she might have liked it for the crunchy texture--Clara likes eating things like popcorn kernels, raw spaghetti noodles, and ice. Silly girl!

Michael with Dr. Borke and Dean Drisko

Michael with Dr. Deleon and Stephanie and Virginia, the two other residents accepted this year

OKU Induction (see pics above)

We are now in the midst of graduation celebrations as Michael finishes his four-year dental degree. It is difficult to believe that he is actually graduating, in part because he still has more schooling (ortho residency starts July 1), and because we've worked and waited so long for this point that it just hasn't quite set in yet. I'm trying hard to live in the moment and just enjoy it instead of worrying about the future, but not worrying hasn't exactly been one of my strengths.

Anyway, last week Michael was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Dental Honor Society. He was one of seven students in his class, all of whom have excelled academically and have also participated in various school organizations, research projects, community work, etc. I don't think we (or at least I) realized how cool it was until we got to the fancy club where the dinner was held and got to rub shoulders with a lot of really amazing and talented dentists. And we got a delicious meal out of it, too, which was dandy.

FYI

Never flush a baby wipe down the toilet. It might get clogged. And then you might have to try to unclog it with your new plunger. Unsuccessfully. Then you might have to look online for suggestions and call your dad. You'll wait until your husband comes home and tries. Unsuccessfully. You might suggest that he hook two massive, dirty hoses together from the outside spigot, run them through the house, and try to use the water pressure to unclog the dadgum wipe. All of this with the babysitter coming in fifteen minutes so you and your husband can go to a fancy awards dinner, paid for by rich dentists. The hose trick might be semi-successful but because the water pressure was so low with the two hoses stuck together, it's only partially unplugged. You'll probably be able to get the hoses outside again before the babysitter arrives, but you just hope the babysitter doesn't have to go while she's there.

Then, after you arrive home, you might look online again and watch a how-to video of a guy using a plunger. You'll both find it insightful, and then your amazing husband will actually unclog the toilet for you. And you'll be so grateful that you got a plunger--especially the good kind that has a rubber thing that comes out and fits into the toilet hole.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.

OT time

I brought the camera to Clara's occupational therapy session today with Claudia Morin, OTR/L. She is such a wonderful therapist--I wish I could bottle her up and take her home with me. The pictures didn't turn out so hot, but you get the general idea.

Here Claudia is trying to get Clara to pull and push these flexible tubes--Clara has low muscle tone, so she could hardly even do it and was more interested in wearing them as a bracelet.

Claudia is helping Clara climb up into the "penthouse" from "moon rock" (the big pillow filled with foam blocks). Clara avoids moon rock because it is unstable and she doesn't have good balance. It's great to get her out of her comfort zone.


Here Clara is inside the barrel. She likes it because she feels safe and secure, but of course Claudia makes her work to get in and out of it and will throw things into it (like bean bags, etc.) that Clara will then empty out.


This type of platform swing is great because it gently arouses Clara's nervous system, and with Claudia on it as well, it's not too scary. When Claudia got off, though, Clara didn't want to stay on very long since she felt the open sides more and didn't feel as secure. The ultimate goal is to have Clara actively pull the ropes so she can move the swing (right now she passively sits there while Claudia does the swinging for her). Baby steps . . .


As you can see, OT time is playtime with a purpose. For me, it's wonderful to watch Claudia work with her and see what things I need to be doing. Sometimes I get pretty discouraged, but it's heartening to watch the small improvements Clara is making. Claudia also does hippotherapy, which is using horses for therapy with special needs children. It's really awesome, and we might try it with Clara in a few years. Claudia owns a farm and has several horses and lots of beautiful property. Going to OT is therapy for me, too!

My Emotion Lexicon

Anger: when Clara pulls her towel into the bathtub with her

Annoyance: when Clara purposely dumps her pretzels onto the dining room floor

Exasperation: when Clara pulls all of the Kleenexes out of the box

Love: when Clara says to me and Michael, "I want to dance with you," or "I want to hold you."

Pleasure: when I watch Clara wrapping her bear in a blanket (she's gradually learning to pretend)

Pride: when I hear Clara repeating to herself, "I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Shock: when Clara dumps out half a package of taco seasoning all over the kitchen floor

Note: These events all occurred in the past two days, and Sheesh! I can tell I need to learn to separate my emotions from the actions of my child!