The Stevens Clan: October 2009

Lots of drama in the Stevens household lately.... Between Nathan, Caleb, and Elizabeth, I've been to our optometrist as well as the vision center at Wal-Mart a total of about 10 times to either get glasses bent back into shape (Elizabeth's), get nose pieces adjusted (Caleb's...several times), get screws tightened and other various adjustments (Nathan's and Caleb's), and to eventually order 2 new pairs, 1 for Nathan, 1 for Caleb, because theirs REALLY broke. Nathan had his pair from last year as well as the year before which turned out to be a good thing. He's wearing last year's pair while waiting on his new ones to come in but on Monday, he lost that pair which not only made him late for school but left him wearing the pair from 2 years ago which left him with a headache. (Did you follow all that?) 2 hours of cleaning out from underneath the bunk beds in their room and we finally found them.... Caleb was given a back-up pair while waiting on his new ones to come in. Today, they were broken. *rolls eyes* So, back to the optometrist we go! And then there's the mysterious appearing crack right down the middle of the van's windshield and Jonathan's driver-side backseat window "falling" and having to be duct taped up....Really? Must it be SO interesting around here?

The kids all have had at least 1 illness this fall. A few weeks ago, John and Caleb ended up with wheezing/breathing trouble. Steroids for a few days an antibiotics for Caleb (ear infection), and things cleared up nicely. John went down with something yesterday but at the doctor's office today, there was no wheezing or any signs of infection or flu. Doctor said maybe croup, probably just a virus, and that he'll either get sicker (start of an ear/sinus infection or strep) or he'll start to turn around by Friday. He was being so loving to Lydia today, talking and cooing at her. I turned around just in time to see him caressing her little bitty face with his germ infested hands.... I think we all know where this is headed! Ugh!

Everyone is still doing beautifully in school! We've got parent-teacher conferences coming up in 2 weeks! Stay tuned!

Timothy's speech therapy is going wonderfully well....when we're there. (Hee hee!) Missed his 3rd week because he was sick and missed last week because his hearing aid went missing. REALLY missing. Thankfully, insurance covers ONE AND ONLY ONE replacement aid which saved us $1500. On Tuesday, they gave him a loaner hearing aid while his is on order. Before we got home, it went missing in the van! 10 minutes of panic but it was eventually found and I called immediately and ordered a new critter clip which came today. Critter clips work for hearing aids the way pacifier clips work for pacifiers, in case you didn't know....

We recently took a trip to COSI on a day off from school. Jonathan took a vacation day and went with us and we were joined by Candace and her kids. Our Lydia and Candace's Lily are 4 months apart. While we had them laying on their blankets on the floor, at one point, Candace walked away to handle something. I had THREE people stop to say something about my twins.... WHAT?!?! (See pictures below.)

Other than that, we're hip deep in preparations for the arrival of my parents on Monday. Dad will only be staying for a day but Mom will be staying for a little more than a week. We're taking the kids to Chuck E Cheese this year instead of trick-or-treating with them ($50 at CEC is a lot cheaper than $20 EACH for a costume, don't you think?). I'm looking forward to a Halloween party with Caleb and Elizabeth on Friday the 30th at their school. I miss parts of homeschooling but I like being a school-room mom! Got to help dish out ice cream last night at their school's open house. That was fun except right when my shift was about to end. I was dishing up some ice cream and was feeling VERY warm and started coughing. I'm not sick (but I'd swear, except I don't, that I have allergies) but sometimes, when I get warm, I go into coughing fits that are hard to get out of. Thankfully my replacement was right behind me but she had to interpret my body movements 'cause I couldn't talk. It was embarassing to walk away while hacking away. Yes, I did "cover my cough" but still....

Finally, some pictures for you....