The Duck Pond

First day!

Everyone is where they should be this morning:) Elisabeth got the bus at 7:25. Not sure how we managed it but we did! It might have been the pill to calm her stomach, the pill to calm her nerves, and the pill to take any other pain away. She was actually up at 6 am and didn't cry once. Isabella, on the other hand, skipped into school. As Elisabeth would say, she has no reason to complain because she doesn't do anything but PLAY. I will enjoy every minute of this year....next year Elisabeth will be in high school and Isabella will be in kindergarten and Todd will most likely still be in the dog house:) Where does time fly?

Elisabeth's Room...before and after:)

Last days of summer....

Bionic Ear

Ten years ago this August Todd was implanted with a cochlear implant, an electronic device that provides a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. We drove 3 hours to Pittsburgh, had a 4 hour appointment, and returned home by midnight. We might have been home earlier were it not for the trip to IKEA:) Anyway, everything looks great with him. She adjusted some of the settings and gave him new programs to try (making certain frequencies a little louder). We also found out that there will be a new processor coming out soon...although this will not improve his overall hearing, it will be nice for him to wear the external part behind his ear instead of on his belt. We also talked about having his other ear implanted which WILL make his hearing remarkably better. It is quite an extensive surgery and, if something would go wrong, he would never be able to hear with a hearing aid again. Right now, the hearing aid and the implant are a perfect pair for him. I liken it to wearing glasses and having eye surgery. Your eyes will definitely improve with surgery but the glass are definitely adequate. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Ultimately, it is his decision and I will go with whatever he wants.

First day....check!

I survived my first day back. It was like I was never gone. It probably helped that the students were back yet:)

Tomorrow we head to Pittsburgh for an audiology appointment for Todd. He hasn't been back to see his audiologist about his cochlear implant in a long time. We are anxious to hear if there is anything new that can be done for his hearing:) It is a 3 hour trip there, probably a 3 hour appointment, and a 3 hour trip home. Yes, both kids are coming!

Another summer come and gone....

I return to work on Tuesday. Poor me. The kids both go back on the 31st. Poor them. Elisabeth is already in a state of panic. I am not sure why....being in 8th grade, she will be one of the 'big kids'. I think I am going to have to tranquilize her on Monday night and drag her limp body into school on Tuesday.

The BEST Vacation EVER!

Seriously, I have never had so much fun. The ship was absolutely magical. It is the biggest ship ever built and the newest one for Royal Caribbean. There were 18 floors with neighborhoods like the Royal Pomenade, Central Park, the Boardwalk, Adventure Land for kids, ice rink/comedy club/night clubs/casino, and about 14 places to eat. We saw "Hairspray", an ice show, 2 comedy acts, "Come Fly With Me" (an acrobatic show), and "Abba Cadabra" (a band that sounds just like Abba). There was an aqua theater in the outdoors at the very back of the ship that had 2 HUGE tv screens and an 2 level indoor theater for all the productions.

























We swam in all 4 pools and hit most of the 12 hot tubs. I even went ice skating with Bella:) We spent most of the day laying by the pool and drinking diet Cokes and trying to decide where we were going to eat our next meal. The food was incredible and the service was impeccable.










There was about 5000 people on the ship and 2000 staff. The staff are from all over the world and have to leave their families for up to 8 months at a time. They work 16 hour days, 7 days a week with no breaks. They only get 2 months off....all so they can provide a better life for their family. They were quite obsessed with Isabella...I think it was her nationality and the fact that she was the same age as the kids they left at home.





We made 3 stops...Labadee, Haiti, Costa Maya, Mexico, and Cozumel, Mexico. Mom and Elisabeth did all 3 but Bella and I only went to Cozumel. It was BEYOND hot....110 degrees hot. I thought we were going to die. Even opening up our sliding door in our room made it feel like a sauna. I don't even know why I bothered straightening my hair-it instantly curled as soon as I hit the outside.




We ended up staying in a NASTY hotel on Ft. Lauderdale beach the first night we were there and the last night. Can I tell you how much I hate the beach in the summer? The water was about 95 degrees, the sand was about 130 degrees, and the room was about 1 star. We finally packed up at 6 pm on our last night and moved to a Hampton Inn near the airport. It was worth the extra money to have clean carpets and hair-free beds. To top off the wonderful hotel, we found a channel that showed all 5 days of "The Young and the Restles" that we missed. We did a very loud happy dance:)






Thanks, Mom, for all the memories. It was awesome.