OK Ethan, I want to take a picture of your goofy teeth, so we can remember how they looked before they finally fell out. So…just give me a big grin…OK, but open your mouth just a little bit so we can see all your teeth…alright, don’t wrinkle your nose up like that…no, don’t stick out your tongue…just hold still…oh, never mind…CLICK.
This stage is a weird-looking-teeth stage. That’s. for. sure.
We hope, anyway.
A little over three years ago, we noticed that Ethan’s hearing seemed to be less than stellar. It was concerning at first, but then it became down right obnoxious, to be honest. His volume level went up, I had to repeat myself far too often (one of my least favorite things), he misheard words and phrases. It was troubling. As far as we knew (and still know), he had never had an ear infection, so his ears had not caused him any trouble before. We took him in for some hearing tests, and sure enough, it was as if he was walking around with his fingers in his ears. The ENT doc confirmed he had fluid built up behind his ear drums. Fluid that was just sitting there doing nothing, apparently…except causing our little guy to not be able to hear very well.
Since he didn’t have chronic ear infections, we opted for a simple myringotomy, where they just suck out whatever fluid is in there and hope it doesn’t return. It did. So, about three years ago, he received his first set of tubes. It was an instant fix for the hearing issues. Yay! And he had no trouble with the procedure itself. He got a new stuffed animal from the hospital, we went out for breakfast afterwards…I think he could handle it weekly. This was a huge relief to the mama. Thank you, Lord! The fact that my non risk-taker of a son was not at all phased by the whole day-surgery experience was nothing short of a miracle!
That set lasted for about a year, and then the hearing issues were suddenly back. No other symptoms were involved. Just the hearing, or lack of it. So, back we went for a second set of tubes. Again…easy, peasy. Instant fix.
Last fall, the hearing issues seemed to be returning, but it wasn’t as clear or sudden as it had been the first time. I had planned to get him in for a check-up in the next couple of months, but I’m something of a doctor wimp and had been procrastinating. Until Tuesday, when we began swimming lessons again. Ethan has taken swimming lessons, twice a week during the school year, for the last 1 1/2 years. Even amidst the tube procedures, water in the ears had never seemed to bother him. Tuesday was our first day back after the Christmas/New Year break, and he only made it half-way through before stopping and actually crying because his left ear was in pain. I felt so badly for him. I hoped that this wouldn’t mean the end of swimming lessons. We talked with his swim instructor about trying ear plugs next time, and we got him in to his ear doctor Wednesday afternoon (Seth made the appointment, ’cause I’m a doctor wimp).
The right tube was out and gone, and his left tube had popped out but was still sitting in the ear canal right next to the drum. The doc said this could have caused his discomfort and trying the ear plugs in the pool would be fine. His right ear had innocuous fluid built up again, and as the left tube had probably not been out for long, it hadn’t built up as much and he could hear better with that ear.
Faced with fluid build-up and hearing loss again, we’ve opted for a third set of tubes to be installed on Feb 10. This time the doc is going to put in “Good Tubes” which typically stay in longer, even to the point where they may need to be retrieved in a few years. I don’t like the idea of that, but I sure hope this will be the last set that is required. I hope my kiddo will be back to hearing fully and having no more ear pain!
I am so grateful that Ethan’s ear issues are nothing worse than they are…that he is a healthy kid…that this procedure doesn’t stress him out much at all. And that on Feb 10, we get to go out for breakfast! WooHoo!
I’m late for my I ♥ Faces post this week. Going away for a long weekend can throw your timing off a bit! 
This week’s theme is Joy. I remembered this old photo of my nephew and sis-in-law and their beautiful, joyful faces.
Kids Category
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Adults Category
10th place
Another old photo of another sis-in-law and her hubby, caught in a joyful moment.
This weekend, I had the privilege of getting away with three girlfriends! Yippee! Hooray! WooHoo! We escaped to Long Beach, Washington, about 2 hours from home. And, we got to stay THREE nights! THAT was awesome. And so was the company. I am blessed to have these women in my life.
The place we stayed was lovely and beachy, with great colors and decorations. This VW van with surfboards on top was one of my favorites.
Reds, yellows and blues tied the place together.
Of course there were sea shells.
On Saturday morning we awoke to gray skies, but the weather was calm (no wind or rain to speak of) so I set out with my camera. This anchor was found at the end of the paved road, right next to our accommodations. You can see the beach beyond, upon which cars are allowed to drive, and a very nice boardwalk on the right. That’s where I went next.
Very quickly, I came upon a display of a gray whale skeleton!
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After reading the sign posted next to the whale, I realized we were at an historic location. Long Beach was where William Clark (of Lewis and Clark) first met the “Pasific” (as he spelled it in his journal). Further research, later in the day, revealed that the board walk and paved bike path that I was exploring extend 8.5 miles and are part of Discovery Trail, retracing Clark’s steps of November 19, 1805. He had noted seeing some whale bones on that day, so this skeleton, (about 9 years old, I think) was set up in honor of that.
I continued up the trail, going north, and suddenly came upon a figure in the beach grass. (I actually went back and took this shot on Monday morning, when the the sun was shining.)
It’s Clark, of course! There are quotes from his journal, along with other interesting info about the location and the events of Clark’s meeting with the West Coast, placed all along the trail. As I’d been out for about an hour and was getting a bit chilly, I decided to head back inside and explore more on Sunday.
The next morning, I went out with running shoes on and left the camera inside. I walked and ran my way north again, past Mr. Clark, and decided to see where the trail would take me. Eventually, I set my sights on a lone, dead tree off in the distance, determined to make it that far. (Again, this was taken on Monday morning, when I went back with my camera.)
The path seemed to end its parallel-to-the-beach run here, as it veered off to the right and back towards town, so I figured it was the perfect place to turn around. As I took a moment to stretch and take in the view, I stepped around the tree and saw this:
WILLIAM CLARK
NOVEMBER 19, 1805
BY LAND FROM THE
U. STATES
I was incredulous! Could this carving really have survived that long? There was a bench near-by that stated that Clark’s beach stroll had ended near here that day. How cool! I rubbed my hands on the words. How did a dead tree survive in this condition that long? It must have been treated with something, I decided. I turned south. My running was easier now. I must have been inspired by my day’s history lesson. I stopped now and then to read the educational signs, and sure enough, I found one that had a quote from Clark’s journal, telling of how he had carved a tree with the inscription I had read. Neat-O!
(Back in the room, looking up some info on the internet revealed that the tree was actually a bronze sculpture, marking that historic day so that generations would get to experience a bit more of Long Beach’s special place in time. I felt a bit foolish for even thinking that the tree could have been real, and when we all went back for a look on Monday, I saw the artist’s signature at the bottom. Oh well…it’s still very cool!)
After a shower and some food on Sunday, I went out with my camera and continued south on the Discovery Trail. This time, I found dolphins!
(Another shot from Monday, which was the only day we had real sunshine!)
This was shot on Sunday, with our room in the background. See the column of balconies in the middle? Ours was at the top.
I walked for a bit on the beach on Sunday, too. The sand was very gray, kinda charcoal colored. I liked the contrast between it and the golden beach grass.
I noticed I was sharing the beach with many types of foot prints… from people, horses, dogs, birds and cars! Cars aren’t allowed on the beaches in Oregon, as far as I know anyway.
On Monday morning, we discovered brilliant sunshine and a thin layer of frost and ice everywhere. It was a bit more chilly than it had been, but very pretty. Here’s our view from our balcony that morning. You can see part of the boardwalk.
We said good-bye to Long Beach by driving to the north end of the Discovery Trail and walking out to see Clark’s bronze tree. There, I grabbed a shot of my three beautiful friends, in the bright, chilly sunshine!
The weekend was not a good one for catching up on sleep…we stayed up into the wee hours every night! But the laughter and sharing and camaraderie made up for the lack of sleep. Those things are refreshing in a way that sleep cannot be. Thank you, dear friends, for allowing me the privilege of being with you in such a wonderful setting. Now, when do we get to do it again?!
I accidentally stumbled upon this last night, and now I know where I want to go on vacation…someday.
To me, this is like finding a rare name on a mug, or a pencil, or a keychain. (I know…pretty monumental, right?) I was once a Smith, which can be found on anything, but Heasley? Not so much. And now to find it on a sweet little hotel in the hamlet of Heasley Mill in England…how cool is that?
A few years ago, I became aware of the FLY Lady website and books. Being organized, in a routine manner, where emergency cleaning isn’t absolutely necessary before someone steps foot in your doorway, really appeals to me. As does the idea of streamlining one’s household goods and getting rid of anything extra. I would say that I’m generally an organized person, but I am often amazed at how quickly my spaces can go down hill! I’ve learned to be more relaxed about these situations (Honey, you’re not allowed to comment on that!), which I think is a good thing, but I do feel my maintenance skills could seriously use some work. I tend to be an all-or-nothin’ person, and maintenance doesn’t really fit well into that mode. It’s either all beautiful, or falling apart, and then it’s all beautiful again, and then it’s falling apart again. (I realize that “beautiful” and “falling apart” may mean different things to different folks, but I’m just sharing what’s in my own mind.) This all-or-nothing thing just isn’t so efficient and it can be stress inducing, so one of the goals I have for this year is to become a better maintainer…in all areas of my life.
This brings me back to the FLY Lady. I cannot remember how I came to be on her site, but I sifted through a lot of the info on her website and also read her book called Sink Reflections. Following her guidelines, I put together my own Home Journal, or Control Journal as she calls it (I prefer not to call it that, as I’m already enough of a control freak!). I must admit that I love putting together things like this…an organized notebook showing me how to be organized…mmm…organizaaaaation…oops, sorry! Lost my train of thought for a moment! Where I’ve struggled in the past is actually following through with my plan, for the long term. Now, I’m all for being flexible and letting things shift here and there, but really, doesn’t being flexible imply that there is a rule, a plan, a plot, a procedure, a scheme, a design…in the first place? I mean, think of the phrase “flexible schedule.” Flexible schedule. So, there is a schedule, but it flexes. I’m good with that. I do like the idea of not having to think about what needs to be done, but having a plan in place to keep the thinking and re-planning to a minimum. Having it written down in an organized way is helpful to me as well; I know where it is, how it works and it’s easy to communicate the plan to my family members. I find that my son enjoys having a plan in place and he’s happier to participate in household chores if he knows the drill and what to expect.
So, where to begin? As I want to work on maintaining, I’m determined to take things a step at a time, rather than working ’till everything is just so and then trying to maintain everything at once…and then failing. I’m beginning with the Before Bed Routine (or After Dinner Routine), which looks something like this:
House (10-20 minutes)
Prepare for Tomorrow (10-20 minutes)
Me
I would love to hear if other people have evening routines that help to set up a good start to their next day. What kind of things do you include?
My goal is to work through my Home Journal, tweak things that need tweaking, share what I’m doing and what I’ve learned, and take some steps towards being a better maintainer: in my home, with homeschooling, with exercise and Bible reading…to name a few specific areas.
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for another I ♥ Faces entry!
Kid Category:
(a friend’s son)
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Adult Category
4th place
(my sweet hubby!)
