Pop Goes the Weasel!

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? Yesterday was such a beautiful day, we spent most of it outside! In the distance we heard the faint sound of the ice cream truck! So I gave each of the boys a dollar and we went out front and waited...and waited and waited some more! It would sound close and then fade away! We probably waited a half hour before he actually showed up! lol The tune "Pop Goes the Weasel" has been ingrained in my head! During that time we discovered an ant colony and we fed them popcorn! The boys loved watching the ants carrying around their crumbs!

As you can tell by the looks on their faces, they enjoyed being able to spend money!

Ben said and I quote: "This is my most favorite bill EVER!"

Here's Alex showing me his dollar!

And finally...the ice cream man came!

And here they are enjoying their banana popsicles on a hot day!

Today was a really cold day. I went to a used rubber stamp sell that was held outside in Pittsburgh, and some lady was wearing winter gloves! It was very cold outside! I also visited a thrift store and found some really cool items that I'll share with you in a few days! In the meantime...have a wonderful night!

-Ruth Ann

Any Good Talent Agents Out There?

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share this cute little video with you! Remember you'll have to turn my music off on my pink music player (on the right hand side) to hear it. Do you remember the song "Rapper's Delight" from the 80's? Well here's a video of Ben dancing to it. He's trying to break dance!

When he hears an upbeat song he always dances! Even when he strapped in his car seat! Never know....he just might be the next John Travolta! I have another video of both Ben and Alex break dancing, but at one point they hit heads and there's a lot of crying! I thought I'd spare you those vocals! lol

I really want to teach him "The Hustle!" I'll post that video next!

Happy Wednesday!

-Ruth Ann

Fallingwater with my boys!

My husband had to work today, so I decided that I was going to spend Mother's Day out and about with my boys. I live about 20 minutes from Fallingwater in Mill Run Pennsylvania. It's a wonderfully famous house that was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. People travel from all over the country and the world to see it, and yet today it was my first time.

There were people from all over the place today- we met a very nice couple from England!

I had all intentions on having a picnic on a grassy lawn somewhere, but there was no picnicking allowed! As you can see from the following photos, we had a picnic lunch in the back of our car! The boys thought it was fun! We had sandwiches, chips, bug juice, and red Swedish fish!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a tour inside the house. Children must be at least 6-years-old to be admitted inside the house! I do understand why they do that. I wouldn't feel comfortable with taking my children in a multi-million dollar home, especially by myself.

My boys listen very well, but still I can already see Alex causing trouble behind my back. All I can picture is him defacing the original Picasso painting that hangs on the wall in the house!

The man I met from England didn't understand why children were not allowed...he said "What...children at that age cannot learn?" I do understand his point. But I was happy staying outside and enjoying the scenery!

Here are the boys eating lunch in the trunk of the car!

Here they are running up the trail!

I just love this picture of them! Alex's expression is just priceless!

And the following photo is from two years ago when Brad and Angelina visited Fallingwater! This photo came out in our newspaper after their visit. It was all hush hush...none of the locals knew about it until after they left! But still...how fun! I hope that you too can visit Fallingwater sometime! I'm very fortunate to live in a very beautiful part of Pennsylvania...even though I complain about the weather alot!

Hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Ben & His Many Eye Conditions

(This photo of Benjamin was taken in April of 2007. Aren't his eyes beautiful?!)My oldest son, Benjamin, has had eye problems ever since birth. It all started with "strabismus" or lazy eye. One day I took him to the pediatrician because he was sick. The on-call doctor, who wasn't our ordinary doctor, noticed something with his eyes. She said that they didn't look right and referred us to a pediatric opthamologist.

As soon as Ben walked in the door the opthamologist immediately recognized one condition called "megalocornea" which means large cornea. This is a rare eye condition and to you and I it just looks like Ben has big beautiful blue eyes. But this condition can also be connected with pediatric glaucoma. At the time he was too little to be tested for glaucoma while he was awake, he wouldn't stay still for the testing. He was going to have eye surgery due to his lazy eye, so while he was out they checked him for glaucoma. Luckily, he didn't have it.

Ben also has another rare eye condition that has to do with his optic nerves. I cannot think of the name off the top of my head. They didn't want to operate on that, because any little mistake could lead to blindness in that eye, so they left it alone.

Ben started wearing glasses a couple months before his third birthday. So it's been a little over a year since he's been wearing them. Ben has to go to the eye doctor once or twice a year for his checkups. His last checkup was a few days ago.

We spent two hours in the doctor's office. We had to wait for his pupils to dilate and then he had to have numbing drops to check for glaucoma. All seemed to go well, except they discovered that he now has "ocular albinism." For example, people who are albino lack pigment in their skin and hair. This is a type of albinism where he lacks pigment in his eyes that block out the light.

I've noticed that when we go outside and it's sunny he always squints his eyes. He's done that for a couple of years. I'm a photographer so I always have a camera with me and always yell at him to open his eyes! Poor kid, I didn't realize that it pains him! Even when we're inside and I'm constantly taking pictures of him he always says "that's enough!" like it bothers him. Well now I know that a flash or any type of bright condition hurts his eyes! Here's a photo that I took about a month ago when he was doing this. This is what I mean by his squinting outside. It looks like I caught him on a blink, but this is how he is during a sunny day.So what does this mean? Well for one thing, poor guy, I'm going to take it easy on the picture taking! And he will need to get transition lenses for his glasses. That's probably the most practical thing to do instead of buying prescription sunglasses. He also has depth perception issues, so playing sports will be more difficult for him as well. He will most likely have trouble reading the chalkboard at school and it may be possible that he will not be able to drive a car. But I don't want to think about that yet. I want to focus on him now! Just please keep Ben in your prayers.

It could be a lot worse, and I'm just so thankful that it isn't! Alot of these eye disorders are associated with developmental delays, and Benjamin is an extremely bright boy who seems to be ahead of others his age. I'm just so thankful that this isn't something too serious!

We do not have eye insurance but "ocular albinism" is a medical condition and should be at least partially covered on our medical insurance.

I also found out that he will need to have eye surgery again in the future. The opposite eye that was operated on in the past will need surgery as well!

You are probably wondering is it hereditary? Yes, it is. I asked the doctor if it was caused during eye development during pregnancy? I have a background in child development, so I'm always thinking along these lines. I figured maybe I had the flu or a sickness while he was inutero and that's what caused it. But actually it is hereditary and he either got it from my side or my husbands. My husband and I do not have these problems, so we're not sure whose side it came from.

My Niece's Wedding

This past Saturday, my niece Jenn got married. It was a really great wedding full of lots of family, friends, and love! I originally created a slideshow put to music and posted it on my blog. But it seemed to skip around and not move smoothly. So here is a basic slideshow that I created with some of the photos that I had taken.
Enjoy!

I'm very sad!

It has been a very sad two days. Yesterday, I re-homed Dixie! Several people were interested, but nothing ever worked out! A couple weeks ago, someone was interested and had me hold her for a week until they could pick her up. Well they changed their mind at the last minute! This happened with two different people. Another person wanted her as an outside dog, but I couldn't see her tied up everyday! I thought if I couldn't find someone who was a perfect fit, we would end up keeping her.

So one night after placing an ad her on Petfinder, I prayed for the right owners. The next day I got a telephone call from an older lady who had recently lost their Golden Retriever. They were looking for a companion someone that they could spoil and love! The couple that I found, or found me, are retired. They will be at home with her all the time, and will definitely be keeping her as an inside pet. As a matter of fact, although she is kennel trained, they do not want to ever put her in a cage! I only did that at night and while I was away so she didn't chew everything apart! lol But they don't seem to mind.

We even told the couple that Dixie gets severely carsick. The lady said if it was a problem she would give up the front seat and let Dixie sit in her place! So sweet!

I live in Southwestern Pennsylvania and they live in Northeastern Pennsylvania! They decided to come a little over halfway and we met at a rest stop on the turnpike. It was such a dreary day. It rained all day and it was just blah! Not to mention having to give my baby away!

I cried ALOT! And the older gentleman offered to buy me a sandwich! Men always seem to be uncomfortable around women who are crying! lol

But I showed them every last tooth she got in, her favorite toys, and every last detail! It was soo hard! I'm the one who has been with her everyday for the last 3 months! I'm crying as I type this, it's soo hard for me.

Today I found a sippy cup that Dixie took and chewed the top off! I cried!

Drying my hair with the hair dryer made me cry too! She always loved the hair dryer! I always would blow it in her face!

Even though I miss her terribly, the stress and noise level has gone down by at least 60% or more! There was so much chaos in this house with her around, not to mention the stress!

When someone would show interest in adopting Dixie, the main question is "Why?" They would ask: "Why are you giving her up?" I would always e-mail them this photo! This was the chaos that has been my house for the last three months! Two dogs and two toddlers was too much for me to handle, and that's what I told them! Look at the expression on Ben's face! Priceless!
Even though I miss my baby, I'm enjoying the quiet afternoon!