The Good And Not So Good News ...

Had some good and some not so good news the other day about Maddy's hearing. She was diagnosed with a hearing loss a couple years ago and has a hearing aid in her right ear. In the past, we've thought that her hearing in her left ear was better. Well, turns out that it's about the same as her right ear . . . so both have a mild/moderate hearing loss. Now we need to think about getting a hearing aid for her left ear also. And we'll consider that and talk to her teachers and the audiologist. Last year, when she got the hearing aid in her right ear, it seemed like it really helped her come out of her shell a bit more. She's always been a bit quiet and reserved (but silly and funny and sweet at home) and maybe it was finally being able to hear better that gave her some confidence and allowed her sweet personality to shine through. So, even though she could get along just fine with only one hearing aid, I'm starting to wonder if getting one for the left ear would help her out even more.


Last night we read a book about an Elephant that couldn't hear and needed hearing aids [the book came with her hearing aid and a little stuffed elephant]. In the book, before he got his hearing aids, Oliver the Elephant felt like everyone was mumbling, he couldn't understand what was being said and felt sad. I asked her if she felt that way and she said that she did sometimes, and if she doesn't hear what someone says or asks her, she just guesses!

The more disappointing news about her hearing loss is that it cannot be corrected surgically. Previously we thought that it was due to holes in her eardrums that could be repaired later. The ENT didn't want to repair it again (did once already) at a fairly young age, because the grafts often don't take and require repeat grafts. But sometimes, just having a hearing aid and being a little different bugs a girl and she wishes she didn't have the hearing aid at all. So, of course, I worry that having hearing aids in both ears might really bother her. There is a 90-day trial period for hearing aids, so if it doesn't seem to be working out very well, we could send it back. Can you tell I'm leaning more and more towards going ahead and getting one? Meeting next week with school and the teacher that comes in to work with her due to her hearing impairment, so am hoping that provides some clarity for me.

In the meantime, we are looking forward to a warm and sunny weekend here -- finally seems that spring may be around the corner. YAY!!!

Terrible, Horrible . . .

No, that wasn't our day, not really. But, have you read the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day? Well, we went to see the play at the Children's Playhouse on Saturday. It was SO GOOD! Maddy and her friend, Mei, laughed and laughed -- and the Moms did too -- we had so much fun. Perhaps I should have sensed that the play's theme was going to set the stage for the rest of our day!

After the play, Maddy's day started to go downhill a bit just like Alexander's did in the play. First, she had to sit in her carseat and Mei didn't-- because I didn't have one for Mei -- and she wanted to ride with us to a nearby playground. Then I said the reason for that was because she was littler than Mei. Wrong word to use -- her feelings were hurt by being called "little." Then the event we were going to ended early and was over when we got there. No matter, we figured the girls could play. But . . . when running to the playground equipment, Maddy fell and scraped her knee! Then she didn't realize that the warm temps we've enjoyed for a couple days melted the snow and made lots of mud and she ran through it and mud covered her shoes! OY!! The knee, the mud, the car seat and the indignity of being called "little" about did her in and she was ready to move to Australia with Alexander!! It all ended on a happy note though -- going out to dinner, playing tic/tac/toe while waiting for our food and a big dessert of a brownie sundae made everything better -- and really, who could resist a dessert called "Chocolate Excess." YUM!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!! My little valentine woke up a like a grouchy little bug this morning, but cheered up immensely when she realized it is Valentine's Day. I will be joining her at kindergarten for their party and then we will head home. Somehow, I think we have some valentine candy hidden somewhere to munch on.

Oy -- the weather -- again -- seems like all I've been doing this winter is complaining about the weather! But if you live around here, you surely understand why. Since Thanksgiving, we've had bad weather -- including sleet, ice storms, snow storms, way below zero temps, lots of wind . . . get the idea . . . and I could go on! Finally a halfway decent day yesterday, but getting colder every hour today and it was already slick in spots this morning. Not so good for me as I am somewhat driving-challenged in the best of circumstances. And, add to that, my chauffeur (hub) went out of town this morning! Yikes -- Maddy is a few years away from her getting her driver's license, so guess it will be up to me to get us around town safely. No doubt, we will be staying home . . . a lot!

And couldn't put this post up without a photo of my little valentine -- this is an old one from a couple years ago, but always one of my fav's. Enjoy the day.

The Year of the Rat!

Happy New Year! Ahhhh -- the year of the rat --not a fan of rodents really, but happy new year to all! We attended a local Vietnamese Tet celebration last Friday evening as we were unable to attend the Chinese New Year celebration. Maddy and Mei enjoyed the Lion Dance and had a few snacks and then asked to go to their favorite hangout -- McDonalds -- where they played on the indoor playground to their heart's content! Mei's mom and I sat around and chatted, so even though it wasn't our first pick of places to eat, it turned out ok.

Another week of nasty weather around here. OY!! I slipped and fell on the ice on Monday morning going to get the car out of the garage - ouch -- that really really hurt! Tuesday, we got about 5-6 inches of snow so had a snow day today -- which was really nice. Maddy and I got to sleep late and had a day together making some valentine teddy bear bead thingys, doing laundry and dinking around.

Tomorrow, she is taking little Chinese stuffed bears to her classmates to celebrate the New Year. She LOVES her stuffed animals and picked the little bears to share with her kindergarten friends.

They had a little Chinese New Year celebration at school on Tuesday and the photo is from that. Sister Theresa had Maddy and some friends help her with passing out goodies. Maddy thought it was fun, but said the costume was hot!