Light Sensitivity

I think, for me, the light sensitivity issues my girls have, is one of the hardest aspects of this journey with them.  My other children love to be outdoors and they just don't.  It hurts their eyes to the point that they just leave them closed.  I once heard it described like this. 

Imagine that initial reaction your eyes have when you're coming out of a dark movie theatre on a sunny day.  That's what my girls see all the time.  With no reprieve.  There eyes are on constant overload from too much light.  The picture below doesn't do that description justice, but I this picture when we first learned of our oldest's diagnosis.  It helped me understand just how difficult things can be for them.

I can't imagine wanting to spend time outside if this is what I saw either.   We try very hard to have them spend some time outdoors after dusk, when it is much easier for them to see, but sometimes I feel like we live indoors. The older Baby Sunshine gets the more she'll get used to it. That's how it was with Princess Cuddles. Now, with a little coaxing, she'll go outside during the day.  Yes, sunglasses and a hat help, but only if you can get your one year old to wear them!

A Table for Two

I have to tell you about my time out with hubby last night for our anniversary. 

I had no idea where we were going.  All he told me was that maybe if we left early we could walk around some of the shops near the restaurant.  Because of getting the kids situated we didn't have a ton of time to shop, BUT he did pull into one store. A YARN SHOP!!! He took me yarn shopping for our anniversary!!! Have I mentioned I love my hubby?!?!?! LOL If we had more time I may have picked out more, but this is what I left with.

On to our dinner.  I love Italian food, so he found this nice Italian restaurant about 1/2 hour from where we live.  REAL Italian, not someone who sells lasagna & shells (although, on any given day, I'm all for that too) .  For an appetizer we ordered bruschetta.  I'm not a huge bruschetta fan, but this was amazing!  They seared the bread on a charcoal-fired, outdoor grill.  Heavenly!

Dinner was amazing (sorry, no pic).  Many years ago, our hope was to go back to Ireland for our 10 year anniversary.  That was planned at least 2 children ago, so let's just say, maybe another year. lol.  So for dessert we decided on "Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake".  Amazing! 

Love spending time with my hubby.  We have so much to be grateful for, and we love spending every moment we can with the kids, but it's so nice to be alone for a couple of hours.  I look forward to many more anniversaries to come.

Celebrating

Today hubby and I celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary! Yay!!  Ok, for some it may not seem like that long, but I'm considering it awesome.  We've had our share of heartaches and struggles, but God has given us so much to be thankful for.  I look forward to the next decade.

April 7, 2001

November 2010

Our plan was to go back to Ireland for our 10th anniversary (that's where we spent our honeymoon), but that was at least 2 children ago that we planned that. LOL  So instead, we're celebrating by going out to dinner . . . . ALONE!!!  haha - Not an easy feat when you have 6 children.   We've actually learned to appreciate "date night" on a deeper level because it only happens once, or twice, a year.  Now, what do I wear?!?!

What Makes A Family Large?

I seemed to be doing fine.  I had a 10 year old, a two year old, a one year old and I was 9 months pregnant.  Then Princess Giggles was born and my world was turned upside down. I've blogged about it in the past, and won't torture you with more woes but, for those that don't know, it was all I could do to put dinner on the table and do the laundry.  It seemed like 4 children had pushed me over the edge.  Now, in the midst of my chaos, I was hearing similar things from others. "It was hardest going from 3 to 4."  As hard as Princess Joy and Princess Sunshine have been, they still don't compare to the tears that were caused by my Princess Giggles (fitting name, right?!?)

I am leading up to a purpose here.  The more I have, the easier it gets.  But, I don't think many people agree with me.  When I go out in public with my "brood" (as they've been called) I always get the same question. "Are they ALL yours???"  They say it like I have 15 kids with me.  I'm used to it, but it drives my husband nuts!  It makes me wonder, by todays standards, what is a "large" family?  Obviously six is a lot from the comments I get, but how about 4?  I don't remember getting the comments when I only had 4.  I did however get them when I had 5.  Does that mean 4 children is ok, but 5 is "too many".  I'm far from upset by this (it's so hard to tell how someone means something in this day of internet).  I'm just curious. 

My mother was one of 11, so to me 6 is small.  I love my family size and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.  Just wondering how others see a family of 8?

Perspective

It's amazing how a few years can totally change how you see things.  I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately, on a lot of levels.  But much of it has been about my youngest, who is now the second child we have, that was born with low vision.  It didn't seem quite as devastating the second time around, but most of all, now that I'm not "new" to this, I'm not wrought with feelings about what she will or won't be able to see, etc.  The most recent was when I found an old pair of glasses that used to belong to Princess Cuddles. They were definately too big for Princess Sunshine, but I wanted to see if they would help her, so I put them on.  I was astounded at her reaction.  It was like she was opening her eyes for the first time.  They were big with wonder, almost like she was really seeing each of us for the first time.  At that point hubby & I both realized she'd probably be in glasses sooner rather than later.  But I was equally shocked at my reaction. I was happy! This was a complete 180 from 7 years ago when Princess Cuddles got them.  Back then, I wanted her to be able to see without them, not to mention, I was afraid people would tease her. This time, the joy was because I KNEW how much they could help her. 

This whole ordeal got me thinking, and I started comparing how I see things now, to how I looked at them 5 years ago, 10 years ago, etc.  It's your perspective on things.  So, I decided to look it up.  This is the definition I was looking for.

Perspective - the state of one's ideas, the facts know to one, etc.

 

It's the facts that I now know that have changes my perspective.  I know how much help they can be, and I know I want her to have the best chance of seeing that she can.  What other people think just doesn't matter anymore. Long story short(er), we took her and they did give her a prescription for glasses. She's a little on the younge side, and they probably would have waited another 6 months or so, if it hadn't been for the reaction she had to the other ones.  Now all we need is for her to like them!

Anyone have any ideas on how to get a one year old to leave them on??? My other daughter just did. Never touched them. Princess Sunshine will only leave them on when she's outside. She's super light sensitive so the tinting makes her realize they help.

On a side note, I haven't been very active with this blog lately.  That's another thing I've been pondering.  I almost closed it down, but I really felt God led me to start it, so I'll work on keeping better tabs on it :P  I've been feeling like I'm supposed to do some blogging about raising children with low vision, so bear with me if you can't relate. Those won't be my only posts.