LASIK Consultation

It was good news! After two hours of scans, exams, eye drops, dilated eyes, and bright lights I was told that I was a great candidate for the procedure. I am very excited for this to happen. The only concern they had was that I have dry eyes. That wasn't news to me but I suppose I'm just used to it. They said that sometimes after LASIK the eyes can become a little dry. So if I have dry eyes to begin with it may become worse. Personally, I'd rather deal with dry eyes and have good vision than red, irritated contact eyes. I have a month before my surgery to try and get my eyes a little better. So I'll probably be wearing my glasses most of the time. I have an OTC drop I use 4 times a day. Another OTC gel drop 1 time a day. And a prescription drop two times a day. It's a lot to remember! Plus after the surgery I'll have another two prescription drops to keep track of.

Right now my surgery is scheduled for March 18. I have an appointment the week prior so they can check the dryness in my eyes and see if there is any improvement. If there is not, they will push the surgery back. So here's hoping for these drops to do the trick!

And a huge thank you to Shelly for telling me to watch Good Things Utah last Friday! They were offering an awesome coupon to Hoopes Vision. $500 off per eye! I feel so good about going there. I have heard nothing but good things about them.

Tai, if you are reading this....they didn't ask me at all about having more children. I was thinking they would tell me to wait to have LASIK until I was 100% sure I was done having kids. It didn't come up at all!

I can't wait to post about my experience and how wonderful it is to be contact/glasses free!

The best surprise ever

Matt came home from work yesterday with a HUGE surprise for me.

I have wanted Lasik surgery for a loooooooooooooong time. Matt must have gotten sick of hearing me talk about it. He set up a consultation for me and has already done all the research as to the cost and recovery. It means so much to me that he would sacrifice to give me something I want so much.

I got my first pair of glasses in 5th grade. I got hard contacts in 10th grade. About 7 years ago I started wearing soft lenses but I have never been able to wear contacts comfortably. My eyes are always red. I wear glasses a lot also but that's not my first choice. Also I have something called a pinguecula on my right eye. It is a small lump that happens to be located right on the edge of where my contact sits so it rubs all day long. I can't even explain how happy I am to have the option to never have to deal with these things again. It's not a for sure thing yet, it will depend on how my consultation goes on the 21st but I am beyond excited about this. A little freaked out (have you watched a Lasik procedure on youtube?) but mostly excited.

Thank you Matt. I love you.

Bubbles

I was blowing bubbles with Eliza and Jackson the other day and it reminded me of some pictures we took around Christmastime that I meant to post, but never did. Bubbles have provided LOTS of entertainment during the cold, hazy days when I don't want to take them outside.

Eliza likes to chase the bubbles around and try to eat them. Jackson will never give up on trying to catch one in his hands or pick one up off the ground. It can be very frustrating for him.

18 months

We had two big appointments for Jackson this week - his 18 month check-up and then a tube check with the ENT. After two bad colds, two ear infections, and an outbreak of hives, we were hoping for some good news.

Jackson is doing fantastic. Here are his stats -

Weight: 27.5 lbs (70%)

Height: 32.4 in (50%)

Head: 50 cm (90%)

The doctor is not too concerned that Jackson is not talking. He said that 12-18 months is when their motor skills really take off and 18-24 months is when the verbal skills develop more. We're hoping he'll start to communicate a little better. Poor child gets so frustrated! And yes, we try to do signs with him. Eliza loved signs; Jackson, not so much.

The bad news is that his ear was infected AGAIN. That makes three infections in a month. Our pediatrician prescribed a different antibiotic ear drop that seems to be working much better than the other one. At our visit with the ENT I asked if it was normal for a child with tubes to still be getting so many infections. We were told that yes, some children continue to have trouble even with tubes. The plus side is that at least with the tubes in, it's easier to know when he has an infection and it's easier to treat. They said that if he continues to have so many infections one right after another that we may need to have his adenoids removed. We would love to avoid that so we're crossing our fingers for the end of cold/runny nose season to come quickly and that this poor boy can have a break.

Jackson can be such a sweet boy but his has been such a challenge. He is grumpy and a bad sleeper. He spends the majority of the time he is awake crying or whining about something. He screams like he is being tortured if you put him in a shopping cart or a stroller. But I love him. I couldn't love him more. He gives such nice snuggles and loves when he wants to. He lights up when he sees a cat or a dog. He has the sweetest smile, long eyelashes, and the prettiest blue eyes. And he is most definitely a daddy's boy.

My Dad

Today is a big day for my dad. After 35 years working for the Salt Lake City Police Department, he is retiring and today is his last day! Wow! 35 years! That is something to celebrate. Too bad most everyone he works with is off for the holidays. He's leaving without much fanfare which is probably the way he wants it.

The next step for him? Forget taking some time off to relax and enjoy the freedom. Nope. In addition to already being the Stake President, he's going back to school and starts next week! He is planning on getting a certificate to teach Special Ed. Anyone who knows my dad knows that he will be wonderful.

I am so proud of my dad. I love him. He is one of the best people I know. I have never once felt like I didn't get to spend enough time with him. Even with his busy schedule he always makes time for my mom, us kids, and the grandkids.

One of my best memories is when I went away to Snow College. I didn't have my own car so anytime I needed to come home, my dad would make the two hour drive to come pick me up and bring me home. Sometimes I felt bad that he had to drive so much but we have talked about it in the years since and we both say how special those drives were.

I could say so many things about my dad. His family loves him. The only thing better than having him as my dad is that my children get to have him as their grandpa.

I couldn't find a recent picture of Eliza and Jackson with grandpa so here's one with cousin Jared!

Merry Christmas

There were lots of parties to help get us in the Christmas spirit.

Very fun grandchild party with grandma and grandpa!

Eliza the angel

Matt showing off

The spoils of the pinata

Jackson is scared of Santa, to say the least.

Christmas Eve - Our annual dinner/chime playing evening at my aunt and uncle's home.

One of Eliza's favorite people in the whole world - Great-grandpa.

Christmas morning!!!

Eliza may be fighting Jackson for time in her fairy chair.

Eliza and cousin Michael - so cute!

We had a wonderful Christmas. It was a long day but an awesome one. Lots of family which was the best part, by far. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Back to class

In October I signed up to take a beginning guitar class through Granite Peaks Lifelong Learning program. I have wanted to learn to play for a long time. I've tried teaching myself but that didn't go very well. I didn't have my own guitar so I borrowed my brother's and headed off to class! It was SO worth it! I looked forward to it every week. I had a great teacher. The hard part was finding time to practice when I wasn't being mauled by my children wanting to play it also.

My recently acquired calluses and I will be back in class in January for the next part of the class!