Ah...Improvement

Good news folks! It seems that late last week was the low point of my eyesight (knock on wood). Since Sunday things have been much better. Not "better every day" but on average better. I do notice that after a day of working, these new eyes are tired. So I am trying to take breaks during the work day, either to have a laptop free meeting or go for a walk outside. Walks outside of course have triple benefits since 1) my eyes get a break, 2) the weather is lovely and 3) a few calories burned. The weekend is super good to me and Sundays feel pretty awesome.

Another weekend is almost here so I am looking forward to that. And actually on Tuesday I am in an all-day meeting. I'll definitely need to listen actively but I can probably get away with not reading the whole time so that should be a good break in the week too.

In other news, Ross has a week off! This time he's actually getting to rest on his vacation unlike his last one where he chauffeured me, did parent heavy lifting and helped his mom move. This one is more along the lines of play (video & board) games, have a Saturday night out on the town, laze around with Lexi, do Halloween things with the kiddo, experiment with new meals and cocktails. much more relaxing for him and way more delicious for me.

Post-Op

So I had my eye surgery on October 13. I can see but I am definitely still in the less-than-impressed phase.

I had advanced surface ablation, not traditional LASIK. I knew there would be a longer recovery time but I missed some piece of info somewhere. I was cleared to drive and go back to work after 4 days as expected. But my vision wasn't magically perfect after four days. I'm still dealing with variable vision and from everything my doctor and Google tell me, this is depressingly (though somewhat comfortingly) normal. And only time, the great healer, can fix it.

Patience and inaction are not my strong suits. This morning I did LOTS of Googling and besides a dozen articles that said "variable vision for 5 days to 6 weeks" with no cause, action, etc, I found one article that recommended staying hydrated to help keep your eyes moist. Since my doctor has told me to use artificial tears liberally, this seems in line. Thus I swear I have drank two gallons of water today. Like my potty training toddler, I've been running to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

The best analogy I can give for where my eyes are now is it feels like I should be wearing reading glasses. So if I don't blog for a few more days or weeks...now you know why.

The Eyes of Texas

Wow - so much has happened since my Dallas trip!

The constant, and inspiration for this post title, is that my eyes are contact lens free. On Tuesday I have corrective vision surgery. Yay! So it's been glasses every day, all day for the past two weeks. I wish I had spent a little more on my frames and purchased something cuter but in a few days, that won't matter at all.

Next let's jump right to the best of all. Last weekend KEVIN WAS SENT HOME FROM DEPLOYMENT! Yay! Last Friday he texted me from Spain where he was waiting on his connection. Then to Virginia late that night. Saturday he was able to catch an earlier flight than expected and was all the way back to Seattle by lunchtime-ish. Yay! Carly and their dog Holly picked him up from the airport and they are all staying on Whidby Island for a week or so while he goes through all his discharge paperwork. Then back to northern California where she'll return to student teaching, he'll get to do some relaxing and hopefully quickly find a job. He has a strong lead in Southern California so we're all hoping that comes through soon and that he can start before Christmas. His Navy experience will be a real asset for that, or any, gig. And while he learned a lot and saw/lived in some new places, and truly had as positive an enlistment as one can have, I think there are smiles all around for his transition to civilian life. Yay Kevin! Welcome home!

Now know that that cannot be topped...

In other news, last weekend Ross worked a double. Boo! Cade declared it no nap Saturday but thankfully I had a sitter for the afternoon to help us get through that fun time. Sunday we went to the fire station to visit Ross and deliver football snacks.

Monday Cade was sent home from school sick and Tuesday he and I hunkered down at the house with movies. Ross had to be back at work so by the end of that day, we were all running a little thin. Hubby gone for 72 out of 96 hours and a sick kid will do that to a family. So I took my maiden voyage with Instacart and had groceries delivered that day. A bit too pricey for every day life but it was a unique circumstance, I had a $10 coupon and the first delivery is free. A perfect time and place. I'm pleased to report Cade recovered quickly from his little cold and was back to school on Wednesday.

Monday/Tuesday, while Ross recovered from his double and then Cade was sick, we added landscaping to the crazy. The same guy who did our awesome back porch stone-lined and cleaned up our flower beds. I added path lights tonight.

Yesterday was the return of the famous Mustache Party. The party was skipped last year as the hosts were prepping for the arrival of baby 3. But that's behind them now and it was time to party again. For the first year we brought Cade. All and all, he did OK. He declared yesterday no nap Saturday again (an unpopular trend) so I knew he'd be touch and go all afternoon. He had fun though, chasing their chickens, enjoying his first ring pop and playing with the awesome truck and dinosaur toys. He and I managed to stay until almost 6 p.m. He dozed the last part of our drive and was in bed by 7:15 p.m. yesterday. In fact, asking to go to bed.

These two were so sticky and so happy.

Also of note yesterday was Cade's official ability to climb out of his crib. ....yay? No, not yay. Stress! I was really hoping we could do that transition next month post eye surgery but he had other plans. So this morning Ross and I converted his crib to a toddler bed. The rail doesn't fit quite how I'd like so we'll be getting a new one as well as some new dinosaur sheets for his "new big boy bed."

With the after effects of the Mustache Party/my at-home wine night and some wicked allergies (it feels like I have an elephant sitting between my eyes I'm so congested), today was a pretty rough day. Cade also decided to really embrace "terrible twos" which was rough on our already short patience. He went to time-out like five times and had one train taken away for bad behavior.  We made it to bedtime though and an hour in, bedtime in the big boy bed seems to be OK. Only time will tell.

Tomorrow Ross and I are both off but preschool is open. So Cade's terrible two tush will be at school and we will be taking care of grown up things. Like my pre-op eye appointment, dropping off a bag of donations and packing up Nancy. Super fun right? Cade doesn't know it, but he's winning by being at pre-school. However after all that I'm really looking forward to taking Cade and Holden to Fuddruckers for $1 kids' meal night and to play in the arcade a little. Ross and I like Fuddrucker's burgers more than any two adults should and we're happy to return the favor to Jenny and Jeremy (who took Cade to Chuck E Cheese this summer) by taking the boys there for dinner. Mommy's last dinner before surgery! Wah wah!

Surgery is Tuesday afternoon and I'll be pretty out of commission until Thursday morning. I'm not even going to see Cade Tuesday night; I'll just be locked in my room on pain meds. By Friday though I should be cleared to drive. And these eyes of Texas will NEVER HAVE TO WEAR CONTACTS AGAIN!