No more glasses for Sara

Do you recognize this little girl?

Get used to it - this is the new Sara! The doctor deemed her glasses-free this morning! She went from an astigmatism of 1.25 in both eyes a little over a year ago and now it is down to 0.5 in one eye and nothing in the other. So excited! She did a great job of sitting still in the chair by herself, getting drops in by herself, and reciting all the letters he asked on the eye chart. Even tonight at dinner her eyes were still dilated. It was kind of freaky because one eye was dilated more than the other so it made her eyes look really weird.

And this is Adam...still no glasses needed! He was such a big boy. He even got to put on cool round glasses with one lens red and one blue to test for color blindness. I was a little worried lately because he keeps saying orange things are yellow. There was also a big pair of black sunglasses he wore that made things 3-D. He had to pick which bug stood out the most from the page and push on circles that were jumping out at him. The funniest thing of the day? He saw a man outside the eye doctor's office smoking and he said "Mom, he's got a smokearette!" I guess that's what he calls a cigarette now!


As a side note, I had to add a picture of Sara's braids. I got creative today with our extra time and did a little half braid on both sides. This picture doesn't totally do it justice. It was so adorable!

Out of the mouths...

Last Thursday I had my twins group meeting and the kids were in bed by the time I got home. Shannon said they were still awake, so I decided to go in and tell them good night.

I leaned over Sara's bed and she said to me, "Doesn't it smell good in here?"

I agreed, "It does - it was bath night, wasn't it?"

She continued, "It was. Smell my feet" and she held up her foot for me to smell.
"Smell my arm" and she held up her arm.
"Smell my hand"...you get the idea.
Obviously she was still awake because she was so busy smelling herself!

And the next morning, what was the first thing out of her mouth when she opened her eyes and I saw her?

You guessed it..."Smell my feet!"

Responsibility Charts

I found these magnetic responsibility charts at Target during our recent Wisconsin visit. We had been looking for something age-appropriate for the kids. I was super-excited to find these and even more excited at what a big hit they were!

They each got one and we hung them up in a reachable area. We went thru what each of the "chores" were and by the end of the first day, they could both recite back what each one was. I thought they would get confused whose was whose without having their names on them or decorated in some way but they always knew.


Sara totally rocked it all week and got a praise magnet for every item...she is definitely showing her excitement!




There were quite a few chores that can grow with the kids thru the years, and some blanks to make our own. The ones we picked are:

1. Make bed
2. Take care of pets
3. Brush teeth
4. Get dressed
5. Put away toys
6. Get ready for bed
7. No whining (at bedtime, which meant no talking and no getting out of bed)
   

We had been having some issues with Adam going to bed at night. The very first night, he was in there, quiet, and didn't get out once so he could pick his magnet the next morning. 5 nights out of 7 he had a great night! Also, every morning when he got up, he made his bed before he came out of his room.

Feeding time

Quite a few years ago the swallows made a nest under the roof of our front porch. The next year they made a nest in the other corner. They have continued to come back every year, sometimes twice in a year, and they trade off which nest they use.

While eating a snack outside last weekend, we got to show the kids the new baby birds, and how the mama bird comes to feed them.

Why?

Because the babies can't fly yet to get their own food.

Why?

Because when they hatch out of their egg they are really small, just like you were when you were a baby, and then they need to grow.

Why?

So they can get big and strong and fly on their own someday.

Why?

Oh, look...the mama came back to feed the babies again...


Why?

Lemonade stand pie

1/3 c Country Time Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
1/2 c cold water
2 c vanilla ice cream, softened
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip, thawed
1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust (16oz)

PLACE drink mix in large bowl. Add water; stir until mix is dissolved. Add ice cream. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Freeze, if necessary, until mixture is thick enough to mound.

SPOON into crust.

LICK spoon.



LICK bowl.


FREEZE at least 4 hours or overnight until firm. Remove from freezer 15 min. before serving. Let stand at room temperature until pie can easily be cut.

ENJOY!

Emergency repairs

Our house was grand central station today.

The tree service company was here treating 2 of my large Maple Trees for some type of scaly fungus.

The geothermal repairman was here replacing the compressor so our air conditioner would work again. Praise God for warranty work!

And the spring broke on our garage door. Thankfully, we were able to submit an emergency request to this fabulous company that installed them called Garage Doors by George. They are out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and were here within 8 hours of the problem! Now that's service! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

Butt bounce

The kids have been watching the neighbors do all kinds of tricks on their new ginormous trampoline. I don't think we are ready for the flips that we've seen Tia doing but Adam probably could if he tried! The popular stunt lately is the butt bounce and in the past few days, Adam has perfected it! Basically, you jump and jump until you are high enough to throw your legs out and drop your butt on the trampoline. Next step is getting Adam to put his legs back under him and stand back up. I think he has the height!



By the way, apparently he told my mom when he picked out his clothes for the day that this outfit matched and there was going to be no arguing about it! Orange, yellow, and brown striped muscle shirt with red, white, and blue shorts. I might need to get him tested for color blindness!

Here is a video of Adam in action. It amazes me how he is jumping with abandon. Usually he is more cautious. It makes me laugh that Sara sat right in front of the camera and told me "I'm going to be in the picture." Adam is nice enough to give Sara a turn but she takes too long and then gets distracted by pretending to be a bird. She needs a little more practice but she is getting there.