Run, Forrest, Run!

At Joshua's 15 mo. check up, we asked about his feet.  They turn in when he walks.  Pediatrician said to see the podiatrist.  So we did.  That was last Tuesday, Oct. 26.

It was a day where I should have just stayed in bed!  I took the day off.  Me, Tyler and Joshua all had appointments.  I took Tyler to school at his regular time instead of to before-care.  On the way, I rear-ended someone.  Nothing major, barely hit her, no one hurt to sum it up. I was already slowing down, turned to look at the boys and when I turned back around the cars that had been slowing down were now at a stop.  Now Tyler reminds me every morning so far, that "this is where you had your wreck."  Thanks for the reminder Tyler, I forgot!

Went to my appt where I sat for an hour.  My 9am appt ended at 10:20.  Went to the mall to meet Ken and Tyler for his follow-up for his eyes.  He got glasses in July and is so darn cute!  Good news of the day - Tyler's eyes were no worse then at his original appointment.  Later I met a wonderful friend for lunch.  I did enjoy the adult time.  We are both teachers and both had appointments.  It was nice to not eat with children and to have more then 25 minutes.  We had no sooner talked about how we hoped we didn't see any parents then one of my parents walks in.  She was really nice though!

Then 2pm rolls around and I take Joshua to the podiatrist.  He wants to get x-rays.  Well that was about as much fun as pulling teeth!  Joshua didn't like it at all on their small machine so we were sent across the street.  That was ok if you like waiting an hour with a getting cranky 1 year old.  Ken had just picked Tyler up at school so they came to help entertain.  When it was Joshua's turn, they could hear him screaming in the lobby as we basically held him down to get the x-rays.  Good stuff! 

It's now almost 4 and Ken has to go to work so I have Joshua and Tyler with me in a doctor's office. What fun, but I have to give HUGE kudos' to the staff at Dr. Hagan's office.  They were GREAT with helping entertain Tyler while I talked to the doc.  Dr. Hagan also gets kudos.  Joshua like him and he explained lots and talked to me like a human being.  He was great.

So after we get back, we have Joshua walk down the hallway. We send Tyler first and Joshua quickly follows.  Doc says "Holy Moly!"  I let him know I don't like it when doctor's say that!  He asks why hasn't he been treated before.  I say we didn't notice it until he started walking. He says, "not his feet.  I'm talking about his hips."  When we get Joshua back on the table he shows me what he's talking about.  When you and I sit with our legs out in front, our toes and knees are pointing to the sky.  When Joshua does it, his toes are pointing up but his knees are to the side (left on left leg, right on right leg).  Doc corrects it and now his knees are right, but his feet are nearly at 90 degree angles inward so his toes are looking at each other.

I was told that Joshua should have been treated when he was about a month old.  If that were the case, he would have worn either braces or casts to fix the problem before he could walk.  The podiatrist wasn't sure what would happen since he can already walk.  You can't exactly keep a 1 year old still and have any sanity left!

Tomorrow, he will be getting fitted for special shoes.  That's why I titled this post Run Forrest Run.  As I told my students where I was when I was out, one of the students immediately said "Like Forrest Gump?"  We are waiting on the referral to the pediatric orthopedist to talk about his hips and legs.

But this whole thing makes me wonder should I have noticed his legs sooner?  I knew he walked a little funny.  I just figured it was his feet.  No matter what, he is perfect to me and Ken!  Whatever it takes, we will do it if it will help him in the long run.  For those of you that know him, you know it certainly hasn't slowed him down any!  He's all over the place and climbs on everything!  More to come on the situation later.

Nicholas Sparks contest

My favorite theatre teacher has a blog I have started reading.  She is now on my list of people I am jealous of!  She met Nicholas Sparks during his book signing for the release of his new book, Safe Haven.  He is by far my FAVORITE author.  I have read all of his books so far.  Can't wait to read the newest.

Alison is giving away a signed copy of the new book!  I hope I win it!  Follow the link for more information on her contest!

Catching Up

I am really going to try to do this more often, but no promises! You all know life gets in the way sometimes. I just realized it has been nearly a year since I posted about Ken's 40th birthday. He'll be 41 in 3 days. Tomorrow is opening day of bow season for deer hutning so he will be somewhere in a treestand. But first we are taking the boys to Farmer's Day in Richlands.

So since last year a lot has gone on. I worked on National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification from October, 2009 to March 2010. I was so relieved to get that package mailed! It's a lot of work, but if I pass it will also be a really nice raise! Since the state hasn't given us our step raise for years of experience in 2 years, it would be really nice. You have to complete 4 entries in a portfolio. Just packaging it all togther took 3 hours! Then there is a test with 6 essay/analysis questions. I took the test in May 2010. I am waiting patiently for mid to late November for the results. Everyone finds out on the same day. Not at all nerve racking.

Ken is still working on his business degree. Maybe he'll be finished before too long, but it's a slow process when working full time and only taking 2-3 classes at a time. He is also still on night shift. You would think that after 6 years (in November) I would be used to it, but I sure would love for him to be home to help with bed times, lunches for tomorrow, and school work now that Tyler is in K-4.

Speaking of Tyler, he was 4 in Janurary. He is going to Jacksonville Christian Academy this year for K-4. So far he is loving it. His teacher says he is doing great which makes me very happy. THe only bad thing is I spend nearly an hour in the car every morning. I take Joshua to Mema's, then Tyler to JCA, and then I head to Dixon High for work. That means I get up way too early but it's worth it. We think Tyler will truly benefit from going there.

Joshua is 15 months now. He is still my great sleeper. Sleeps 10-12 hours each night. He is all over the place and loves to climb. He is also starting to really get a personality. It's cute at times and a sign of things to come at others.

Nathan (13) came for 4 weeks this past summer. He was able to go to Centrifuge at Ridgecrest with our church youth group. He says he had a great time. He'll be back at Thanksgiving. Nathan is in 8th grade. I can't believe it. When Ken and I started dating he was only 5. Why can't they all stay little? He is also on the trap team at his middle school. Tryouts were last weekend and he shot 9 out of 10. Not bad. He did it last year as well and really likes it.

Brendan (20) lived with us for a few months from May - August. He is now on his own again.

Tyler asks tons of questions about Dylan. He also has a strange fascination with Heaven and death. He has asked me if he was dead. He told me he wanted to be dead so he could go to Heaven and play with Dylan. I know he doesn't understand the whole concept yet (obviously) but I don't know what "normal" is. Most parents don't have this issue to deal with. In case you haven't read my other posts, Dylan is my son that passed away in Sept 2004 when he was 13 weeks old. He was a blessing for the time we did get with him and still is. I pray that the Lord gives me the right words when Tyler is asking all his questions so that I can show Tyler what a wonderful God we serve.

Ken and I took the little boys to Tweetsie Railroad over the Labor Day weekend. Tyler loved it and Joshua just sat back in his stroller and took it all in. Tyler came home with a hat, badge, two guns and a bow and arrow set. Poor Joshua only got a badge with his name on it. He's too little for the other stuff and by the time he gets big enough, Tyler will have lost interest and Joshua can have his stuff.

The school year started back in August as usual. So far so good. I took the Technology Education Praxis in June so that I could teach Scientific and Technical Visualization I and Game Design at Dixon this year. Thankfully I passed! I got my scores on Monday before I was to leave on Sunday for a week long workshop on how to teach Sci/Vis! Cutting it close, but we didn't get word that Dixon was approved to pilot Game Design I until May. Sci/Vis is the prerequisite for it. I have a class of 25 boys for the whole year. So far so good though. I have a lot to learn still, but I am really looking forward to it!

That's what's going on with us in a very small nutshell. I'll post some pictures soon.