Thankful for second opinions!

We received some wonderful news yesterday that the first ophthalmologist was premature in his hysteria over Traci's eyes. Traci has been worrying ever since this one particular test showed her optic nerves in a bad light (so to speak), even though all other tests were fine. So she finally went to a second ophthalmologist yesterday who did EVERY test in the book, and confirmed that it was indeed that one test that was wrong because it was getting distorted readings from Traci's eyes (because Traci is VERY near-sighted, which affects the machine's readings). Verdict is that Traci's eyes are perfectly fine!

Praise God!

Lessons learned:

1 - Just because somebody is "the glaucoma specialist" doesn't make them immune to mistakes. Or hysteria, for that matter.

2 - Trust your instincts. Traci knew in her well-trained head that this didn't make sense, but in her gut was (understandably) worried sick. And all for naught.

And as a fun aside (the song title is apropos):

  • sharbyheart
    Wow...so glad all is well. That would be life altering!
    by sharbyheart at 03/04/10 11:01AM
  • swood
    That's great news!!!
    by swood at 03/04/10 11:42AM
  • shutterfly
    Oh...I didn't know all this was going on. So, so thankful things have worked out well! Praise God indeed!!!
    by shutterfly at 03/04/10 11:48AM
  • kendralulu
    I'm so glad everything is OK!
    by kendralulu at 03/04/10 3:24PM
  • matilda_jane34
    And why didn't we know about this. Thank the Lord all is well.
    by matilda_jane34 at 03/05/10 1:54PM
  • lois
    So glad to hear that!
    by lois at 03/08/10 2:44PM
  • windham4life
    great news! Glad her eyes are okay after all!
    by windham4life at 03/10/10 3:55PM

02/26/10 1:31PM


Happy Birthday to YOU!!


Go wish her a happy birthday.

Then ask her how old she is.

She'll probably say, "Not as old as him!"

"I like shots!"

Two visits to the doctor in one week.....ugh.

Robbie got his last round of vaccinations Monday. I was the evil parent who held him down while the nurse did the dirty deed.

He's STILL mad at us.

Then, Kalli had a VERY unpleasant night Wednesday night, so we took her to the doctor on Thursday. Sure enough, ear infection, and it was a doozy, too. Thus saith the doc, "It's bulging."

Best part was she of course remembered this was the place that Bubba "got Band-Aids" earlier in the week, so she did the logical thing: panic. After she realized she wasn't getting any Band-Aids, she was fine, even announcing to everybody on the way out, "I like shots!"

So, shots are fine, just no Band-Aids.....
  • blueeyes
    :) You did not tell me the Band-Aid story!
    by blueeyes at 01/22/10 12:45PM
  • matilda_jane34
    Life is so cruel for the little ones. Surely hope she is recovered from the ear infection. Robbie will eventually forget. Hope your party is great.
    by matilda_jane34 at 01/22/10 3:19PM
  • mladyman
    I HATE being the evil parent. I would still be crying long after my kids had forgotten all about the shots. Very cute story; thanks for sharing!
    by mladyman at 01/22/10 9:36PM
  • parker1000
    Happy Birthday!!
    by parker1000 at 01/23/10 6:26PM
  • kendralulu
    LOL! Too cute! ~ Thank you! The cake was yummy!!! :)
    by kendralulu at 01/25/10 3:43PM
  • kendralulu
    Happy Birthday!! Did you have a Cars cake too?
    by kendralulu at 01/25/10 6:22PM
  • sparker
    Happy Belated Birthday!!
    by sparker at 01/25/10 10:29PM
  • csusoftballgirl
    Happy Belated Birthday!
    by csusoftballgirl at 01/26/10 10:03AM
  • mladyman
    Your Permanent Record is something principals used to scare naughty children. I doubt there is such a thing! I've got a really good boss .....
    by mladyman at 02/24/10 6:27PM

"No, the doc is accurate with caveats here and there that crop up. "

This is text from a real live email I received from one of our Engineering Team members about a specification document.

I guess he's saying that the spec is authoritative, except where it isn't.....
  • iloveponds
    Nice to be able to read b/w the lines.
    by iloveponds at 12/17/09 11:04AM
  • swood
    by swood at 12/17/09 11:48AM
  • parker1000
    And as long as you're clear on which is which, it's all good!
    by parker1000 at 12/19/09 9:27AM
  • matilda_jane34
    I totally agree except with certain sections that need clarification. Keep those clear directions coming.
    by matilda_jane34 at 12/19/09 11:28AM
  • mladyman
    And it's accurate, except for the parts where it is not.
    by mladyman at 12/24/09 10:10AM
  • kendralulu
    Thank you!! :)
    by kendralulu at 01/20/10 9:31AM

A little R & R

This is the first time since college that I've taken a whole 2 weeks off. A grand time was had by all, I think. We decided to pass on the Colorado trip and instead went to see family and do a little excursion into Oklahoma.

First up was Ft. Worth, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. This is where they print paper currency. We got a tour of the "factory", learned about all the "counter-counterfeit" stuff that goes into bills, and got admonished to "stay with the group" as I instinctively tried to take a crying Kalli away (so as to not disturb the other guests). As you would expect, security is a little tight there. Then we enjoyed visiting with all of them and seeing her new house.

Next we headed to Sulphur Springs, with a couple of stops along the way. First we went to see the Reunion Tower, since we tried to take the kids up it last year, but it was closed for renovation. Guess what? IT'S STILL CLOSED!!! The restaurant is open (with Wolfgang Puck's name attached, no less), but we weren't there for $40 escargot (or any escargot, for that matter), we just wanted to go up to the observation deck. We've promised Robbie that we'll take him up there. Someday.

So, onward we went to the Lego Store in North Dallas. Here, they have a wall of a la carte Legos. You can grab a cup and fill it with whatever you want, like you were in a candy store.

Then we spent the night with my folks, picked up the canoe, and went to Beaver's Bend in Oklahoma. We were planning on camping, but that didn't work out, but we were very glad, because it rained the whole first day! Instead, we had a nice cabin to keep us dry, with a view of the river, and the peacefulness of God's natural wonders. The next day Mom and Dad came up, too. Then we got the canoe out, lugged it down the big hill to the river, and got admonished again, this time by the Park Ranger:

---------------------
Ranger: Ah ho you ane plane on launchin' dat bo!
Me: Beg pardon?
Ranger: Ah say, Ah ho you ane plane on launchin' dat bo! Ya cane lauch no bo down heya unner dem flood gaes!
Me: We can't put our canoe in the water here?
Ranger: Node!
Me: But we asked at the front desk, and they said we could.
Ranger: Really? Well, I guessa den is okay, den.

[picks up radio]

Ranger: Rainer Wun to home bade. Can ya lauch a bo' down heya unner de flood gaes? I have a gues' who say dey tode hem he could!
Home Base (in an absolutely authoritative voice): NO!

[puts down radio]

Ranger: Ahright den. Ya cane do it heya. I jus done wan y'all to git no ticket!
---------------------

In the old days there was no issue with canoeing below the flood gates. There's an alarm that goes off whenever they open them, and in the past you'd just get off the river if you heard the alarm. Looks like the lawyers got involved, and now you can't do it at all. Anyway, we lugged the canoe back up the hill, put it back on the truck, and drove up river to another spot, which turned out to be absolutely beautiful. We took turns going upriver, found a couple of small waterfalls hiding behind the Cypress trees, and otherwise enjoyed the peacefulness. We tried to get Robbie to ride with us, but the wobbliness on the bank spooked him too much.

Then we went back to Sulphur Springs, took the kids to the Fall Festival, and otherwise played with grandparents, till we went home Sunday afternoon.

That was just one week.

The next week we spent "at home," doing whatever we could think of:


--Took the canoe out again, this time getting Robbie and Kalli both in with us, and they had a ball
--Tried to play putt-putt golf, only to find that our local putt-putt place has closed, so...
--Went bowling instead
--Took Robbie to the observatory at Southwestern, where he got to look at the moon/planets/stars through their fancy telescopes
--Rode the Bertram Flyer train
--Went to children's improv theatre


  • bparker1000
    wow, sounds like yall had a fun filled trip!
    by bparker1000 at 10/01/09 5:41PM
  • mladyman
    Next time I want to come along! This sounds like fun. But no canoes .....
    by mladyman at 10/01/09 8:37PM
  • parker1000
    Ah ho you kin fine mo linx nex tie fuh yo nex pos.
    by parker1000 at 10/01/09 8:56PM
  • sparker
    cool! I like your avatar by the way
    by sparker at 10/06/09 9:31PM
  • matilda_jane34
    I wondered which of our progeny should take up writing. Looks like it is your forte. That was great. Enjoy the week.
    by matilda_jane34 at 10/12/09 11:44AM
  • mladyman
    Normally we do watch the extended versions. This time I insisted on regular non-extended versions, which meant I got to hear three hours of "where's the scene of Frodo asking Gandalf which way to go when leaving Rivendell?" "Where's this scene?" "Where's that scene?" Mistake on my part.
    by mladyman at 10/14/09 6:05AM
  • shutterfly
    Sorry...I don't know how to put pics on here.
    by shutterfly at 10/28/09 5:11PM
  • skittles_rainbow09
    I don't really believe that, but I am taking the opposite stance from what I believe, my teacher says he likes that and so I wanted to do it! :) Believe me, I will spank my kids someday!
    by skittles_rainbow09 at 12/04/09 1:25PM
  • skittles_rainbow09
    BTW: HOOK EM' HORNS!! :) :) :)
    by skittles_rainbow09 at 12/04/09 1:26PM