Accomplishments

Go me

Like every other mom out there, I'm always juggling a zillion different things. Between managing multi-million dollar projects at work, raising two girls that keep me on my toes, squeezing in marathon training (yeah, putting it out there so I can't back out, I'm going to do another full), I've always got the little nagging in the back of my mind that one of the balls is going to drop. I certainly feel like a complete hack most of the time.

But some days...some days I feel like I've Got It Together. This morning we got out of the house 20 minutes earlier than we normally do (i.e., actually on time). Good thing, because when I got in my car it started making all sorts of noises and flashing dire alerts that my rear tire pressure was low. I calmly went back into the house to grab some quarters, drove slowly to the gas station (yay for run-flats!), aired up my tires, and figured out how to reset my tire pressure monitor. All by myself.  With no tears or cursing as per my normal modus operandi. Today, I am a rock star. It's the little things, people.

Girls update

Reese had a great checkup, and she is 50% in both height and weight. Her dentist appointment last week was good as well; she had no cavities and her permanent molars are starting to work their way out according to the dental x-rays.

Sprinkle was 75% in height and 80% in weight. Her pedi said it's really around 2 or so where you can start making assumptions about adult height based on percentiles, but her guess is that Madeleine will end up taller than Reese. She said the hair pulling is not atypical toddler behavior, and we just need to redirect her if it happens. The hair pulling has actually decreased over the past two weeks, so I'm hoping it's just a phase. She also said we can start trying Miralax since the dietary changes haven't helped. It's a non-stimulant and really, she could take it every day forever if necessary according to Dr. Filak. Obviously I prefer her system to start regulating itself better, but it did make me feel better that there aren't negative side effects. She said we'd have to titrate, but start with 1/4 dosage for now. (Side note: Who tells someone they need to titrate? Do I look like a geek?  I mean, yeah, I did know what she meant, but still... Oh, fine, whatever!)

We officially switched to Dr. Filak as the girls' primary pediatrician. She's another doctor in the practice as the girls' original pediatrician, Dr. Alley. I love, love Dr. Alley, but as Reese has gotten older, I started to think that she might be more comfortable in the preteen/teen years with a female doctor. We had seen Dr. Filak on several occasions when Dr. Alley didn't have an opening, and both girls adore her. I like her straight-forward but relaxed bedside manner, too. So, we made the switch.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I also took Sprinkle to a pediatric opthamologist this week. She confirmed that Sprinkle's pseudo-strabismus is indeed pseudo. They dilated her eyes to check her eyes/retina, and everything looks good. Her occasional cross-eyed look has gotten a lot better since I made the appointment almost three months ago, but I figured since I had the appointment I might as well go to clear up any doubt. She showed me some pictures of strabismus vs. pseudostrabismus in children and pointed out the same tip Rachele had told me about (if the flash is centered on the pupil and symmetrical in both eyes, it's not strabismus).

Friday tear-jerker

This one's sweet and not gut-wrenching :)

To Haiti With Love