Totally informational post

Get ready grandparents - no pictures. I am getting lamer. I can't help it! Winter is just no fun to take pictures because all we do is get up, go to work/school, come home (when it is just about dark), work on homework, fix dinner, go to bed. The end. I feel like we need a more exciting picture atmosphere.

This will be my last post for 2 weeks. I am taking a blog vacation during my work vacation. Then, when I come back, I will have LOADS to tell you and tons of pictures. Promise. Sort of.

Mat had a wonderful birthday weekend. At least I think he did. The kids could hardly stand to wait to give him his presents on Sunday. So we had to open them before church. Arlington and Finley made him a sign that said Happy Birthday, and all three kids sang. It was very cute.

We went to eat at a New Orleans style restaurant called Voodoo Grill. The food was yummy and the kids were pretty good. The downside was that we had to sit at a booth that only had benches. Finley and Arlington do much better in chairs. The chairs give them limited space to move around. The bench is too much freedom and they end up laying down on it at least 1 million times during the meal.

See how I don't mention Cainan in the above scenario? That is because he is the perfect child at restaurants. I never have to tell him to sit still, or quiet down, or stop laying on me, or stop touching your sister, or eat your food........

Mat took Arlington bowling the afternoon of his birthday. They had a good time. And then he ended his birthday with watching the Colts lose in the superbowl. Good times.

Finley decided to take her clothes off at bedtime Monday night. We could hear her yelling and yelling in her room and I went in and she had her pajamas off. No idea why. She just decided at that moment she would take them off. She was YELLING because she couldn't get them back ON. I opened the door and she said "I am cold". Yeah? No duh. And so I asked her why she took of her clothes and she said "I didn't take them off, they just fell off." Unbelievable.

Arlington and Mat have started the third book of "A Wrinkle In Time" The name is "A Swiftly Tilting Planet". The story has jumped ahead 9 years and Arlington had a lot of questions about that. Mat tells me that some of the main characters have gotten married. So one of the girls changed her last name. She had a lot of questions about that. Then she said she isn't sure she will change her name when she gets married. She said she would have to see what the guys last name was first. Good thought.

Today Finley's teacher that works with her from BESB came to my school to bring me some magnifying glasses to try out with Finley. She brought them in this cute little Tiger carrying case that Finley is going to love. She brought different kinds to see what Finley likes the best to start with. She also brought her a board game "Goodnight Moon" that was made for kids with vision problems.

We talked for about 1 hour. I learned a lot about what will be happening next with Finley. Next month her teacher will start working on Braille with all of us. Believe it or not - the way we will start is by using the Brailler - what you use to write braille. I thought we would start the way we would anything - "this is A, this is B", but I was wrong. Finley will learn to feel the difference between the "dots" first. It is kind of hard to explain, but once we get into it, I am sure I will be able to explain it better.

So, for the first time in months, I am actually feeling better. I feel like we are going somewhere and progress is being made. I have not really let myself accept that this is going to be our life, but I am getting there. I was so focused on just finding the cure and fixing the problem, that I wasn't ready to accept what was.

So today - I realized that this is now our life. Full of doctor's appointments, special teachers, special equipment, a new circle of friends. Mat and I are going to be attending conferences and group meetings, and playdates all for people who are vision impaired. This is how it is really going to be.

I cried a little today. In front of the vision teacher. She said to me "I am the one person parents never want to meet". And that hit me hard. She is so right. As much as I adore her and as much as she adores Finley, I wish we have never met. I want to plan a trip to Disneyworld with my family next year and not wonder if Finley will be able to see it. I want the idea of braille, and canes, and enlarged print, to go away.

But, I realized......it can't. And I need to stop making it.

So - a new day. Here I am. Acceptance has set in and I am looking forward to learning a new language. We are all going to learn - the whole family. Her BESB teacher got me very excited about us doing this together. She has a special book for Arlington and Cainan called "the secret code" which talks about the language of Braille. She has a book for Finley called "Lots of Dots" to show her the braille language.

Baby steps. Next is beginning braille and testing magnification. Then a playdate with a first grade girl who has LCA so we can see where we are headed. Her mom is a teacher and we have been in contact. It will be nice to have her support. Then we will go to this little girl's school and see the supports she has in place so we can see what Finley will be doing at that age. Then a conference, a seminar, another conference.

And thrown in there - a night vision test that is at the end of this month in Boston. And also hopefully the results of the blood tests. And a revisit to the vision field specialist and magnification specialist. Yeah. You see where I am going.

Anyway - I am holding on to my excitement for now. Excited that we have a goal for Finley. I have something to DO. I just needed a job to do for her.

Tomorrow there is no school for Arlington or I. We are expecting a lot of snow at a very unfortunate time of the day for buses. So - we are home. Thursday is up in the air as to what will happen. Hopefully we will be back in school by then.

So - enjoy the next two weeks! I know we will. Between Arlington's birthday trip to New York City, and visiting with family, it will be a nice way to spend our winter break.

See you in a few weeks!