Ear Infections Begone!!

It probably would have been an emotional experience, but taking Ella to have surgery at the place I work made the whole experience a piece of cake. They totally pulled out the red carpet for us. But honestly, we pull out the red carpet for every kid who comes through our doors. This is such a happy place and I think Andrew was extremely impressed to see the type of place I work. Here is a couple before pictures:

I have to admit that I got a little choked up when they held the anesthesia mask on her face to put her to sleep. She screamed and gave me this look of "why are you letting them do this to me??" P.I.T.I.F.UL.!! (Yes, you are allowed to go with your child back to the operating room and stay with them until they are asleep).

And here are some after pictures. I really thought she would be one of these kids who was wild and crazy after waking up from anesthesia. She totally shocked me when she woke up so calm and said "I love you!" and reached for me. I am not exaggerating. It was such a sweet moment.

Such a sweet girl!

She cried off and on the whole way home, but she wasn't even really awake. Within an hour, she was her normal self. She has not needed a dose of antibiotics in almost a month now! This is amazing since she had been on 5 over the course of 2 & 1/2 months.

5 minute surgery=$2500=healthy child with no more ear infections=worth every penny!

Dear Ella,

I am so happy you are a healthy little girl again! There is nothing worse than having a sick child. And those first words of yours when you woke up...that made my whole year!

I love you too!

Mommy

Gone Fishin

I'm going to try and catch up on our last few weeks in just a few posts. Do you remember how I posted a few months ago about how I was able to live one of my little dreams and take Ella to see the Pink Pig? Well, a couple weeks ago, the hubby and I got to fulfill another little dream and take her to the Aquarium. I had visions of squeals of delight, excitement, and fun when she saw all the fish. Well...it was more like screams of terror, refusing to walk close to the tanks, and one episode of throwing herself on the floor. HA! But, after a half hour, she warmed up and somewhat enjoyed it. The ironic thing is that the part she liked the most was the huge tank with big sharks and such. You would think that would be the scary part, no? Apparently, not to Ella. All in all, it was a fun little outing, but I think she would have done better if we had waited another 6 months. Luckily, her admission was free!

Here are a few pictures from our outing. By the way, it is REALLY hard to take pictures in there b/c of the blue lighting and such.

This is Ella and I riding on the moving sidewalk. She quite liked this part.

A sting ray. I've always thought they were cool looking.

Some sort of shark

I really hate alligators. I think my hate for them got worse when we lived in central Florida where there is a ratio of one alligator to one human. They also remind me of the water skiing outing we went on where Andrew lost his wedding ring in a lake FULL of alligators. Trust me, you didn't see me getting in the lake with them! I'm sure there is an alligator with a nice gold ring around its filthy claws!

I just love jellyfish!..looking at them that is. I definitely wouldn't want one near me if I was swimming in the ocean.

This pretty fish almost made me want to go buy a fish tank. But then, I remembered how I can barely take care of the poor obnoxious cat.

I let her have a goldfish snack and wasn't sure if that was weird or not since we were looking at fish.

My two favorite people. I LOVE that he loves her so much. Ella is lucky to have him as her daddy.

Well, there you have it. Nothing very exciting to report. No fish were harmed in the picture taking of this adventure. And somehow, we managed to make it out of there with just one thing from the gift shop...a stuffed penguin. Yeah, we're suckers like that! Oh, and it was ALL the hubby's idea. Yes, Mr. Frugal is a softy for big blue eyes asking "please??"

Dear Ella,

We had so much fun taking you to the Aquarium...but, you are definitely not ready for Sea World! I'm glad you love your penguin.

Mommy

Elegance, grace, poise, and class...

"The only real elegance is in the mind;if you've got that, the rest really comes from it."-Diana Vreeland

Although I first and foremost desire my sweet little lady to love God and live her life in such a way that it illuminates this love, I also have other desires for my little lady. Let me preface this by saying that I by no means expect perfection. She is full of sin, just like us all. However, raising a girl in this world we live in has never been so challenging. With clothes that reveal too much skin, obnoxious behavior (ie-eye rolling ), and the seem for little need for decent manners anymore, I am reminded of how challenging it will be for Andrew and me to raise our little lady to ACT like and carry herself like a lady. But it leaves me with that struggle within my own self of "how do you have poise, elegance, and class without coming across as ostentatious or pretentious?" (Oh yeah...I'm pulling out the BIG words for this post...hahaha). How do you teach your daughter that she can still dress trendy, but still must keep "it" covered up?

I know that much of this is lead by example. I think this is why the older I get, the quieter I get. I realize that some of my outspoken behavior in the past wasn't necessarily someone just being a strong, independent woman. At work, occasionally someone likes to bring up a "funny" story about me. The funny thing is...it's not funny to me anymore. It's embarrassing to think of how I've handled certain situations in the past. And although others might still find it humorous or even give me a high five and say "way to stand up for yourself, Sarah", it has left me wondering if I have lived a life of a "lady". Have I carried myself with elegance, poise, and class?

The point in all this rambling is how when thinking of my desires for my daughter, I realize I've got to "shape up" some myself. I don't want to lose my "fun self", but I don't want to risk not exemplifying the type of lady that I want my little lady to become.

I mean, with a name like Ella Grace, she's got to have some grace and poise!

So when did ladies stop acting like ladies? When did it become okay to not know certain manners or dress with just a little class and modesty? And when did demonstrating these ideals give ladies the label of a snob?

It's going to be a tough job to train this little lady up in the way I think God had intended us all to be anyway. It is going to be hard to bring back these old values when we live in a world of thongs hanging out the top of your low-rise jeans and WAY too much cleavage showing.

But, I'm determined.

Dear Ella,

My sweet little lady. May the ways of the world not sway you from being elegant, graceful, and classy. You can be all those things and still be a FUN gal. You will be grateful one day that you stayed to true to your values!

Mommy