Specs 4 Us: My Review

Aidan has been wearing Flexon frames for the past 2 years, and I have been thrilled with them. They are lightweight, and don't get bent out of shape easily. His first pair of glasses were much heavier and got bent every time someone touched them. He wouldn't leave them on at all, but as soon as we switched to Flexon he left his glasses on all the time. I was nervous about switching to the Specs 4 Us for that reason. You know the saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." However, we think the Specs 4 Us are so adorable, and it's nice to support someone in the Down syndrome community. Once we looked at the Specs in person, we could see that they're very similar to the Flexons in being very lightweight and bendable.

We haven't gotten the Specs to fit Aidan perfectly yet. His new glasses always take a few weeks of tweaking before we get it right. Right now I feel like they keep sliding down on his nose. If I try to push them up to where they look like they should be, he pushes them back down. We probably need to adjust the nose pads and the bend at the ear on the temples.

I notice that the frames look really wide on his face. When we compare them to the Flexons, the lenses are almost the exact same size, but the frame of the Specs then extends further out on each side to make the frame wider instead of heading straight back to the ears (the temples). It makes the frames look a little odd when you look at them at the angle I have them in the pic below. They look really far away from the face. The bridge is lower and smaller, but seems to sit well on his nose. I don't like the way it looks when the glasses slide down, though. They're a completely different look than the really high bridge on the Flexons. Check out the Specs Gallery and the pic below to see what I mean. In summary, the glasses have a smaller bridge (works well on Aidan's small nose) and wider temples (Aidan's face isn't particularly wide, so not as big an issue for us as for other families).

Even though I think they look far away from his face at the angle above, when you look straight on they are right where they need to be...

We have already gotten tons of compliments on Aidan's frames from complete strangers. They are just about the cutest frames, ever. He picked the color himself, so he likes to tell me his glasses are blue every time I put them on him. He leaves them on except when we're in the car (he always takes off his glasses in the car).

I would say that my only issue with them comes from not having them adjusted perfectly for his face yet. Like I said, we run into this with new frames every time.

So, overall, I highly recommend these frames. They're adorable, flexible, high quality, not too pricey, and fit Aidan very well. Our optician told us that she has also had a lot of luck with these glasses for folks outside of the Down syndrome community. Apparently, anyone with a very tiny nose bridge seems to do well with these glasses.

Check out the Specs 4 Us website to see where you can find glasses to try on your child. They have dramatically expanded their locations in the last year. We are lucky in that we recommended them to our eye doctor about a year ago, right when Aidan got his last pair of frames, and now our eye doctor carries them. We didn't have to go far.

For anyone in the Columbus area, we LOVE our eye doctor: Dr. Carole Burns at The Solution Center in Westerville. At their office, they work with a lot of kids with special needs.

Aidan's Mad Face

Just because it makes me laugh! This the face we get if we move something of his that he doesn't want moved, or if we try to help him with something and he wants to do it himself. The older he gets, the more often we get this face. He has another face he uses when he's highly offended, but I haven't caught it on camera yet. Oh, and Aidan's new favorite word is "SELF," which he uses anytime he doesn't want our help, which is almost all the time.

Aidan's New Glasses

We ordered Aidan's glasses going on three weeks ago, and we had a delay in getting them in. They're finally here! I think he looks adorable. This time we went with the Specs 4 Us. What do you think?

BEFOREAFTER

Sleep Advice?

Does anyone have advice on how to get kids to sleep more this time of year? It's light out so late at night, so it's a lot harder to get the kids to bed. Even if we get them in bed at a reasonable time (I aim for 8pm), they stay awake and play for an hour. Then, it's light out early in the morning. We were having a 6am wake-up time before we invested in black-out curtains for Aidan's room. Now it's more like 7 or 7:30pm. Brendan loves his new bed so much that he's been napping again, but since Aidan got his cast off he just wants to play in his room at nap time. There aren't many toys in there, but he will be happy playing with a drawer full of socks, so it's not like I can empty the room. I think Brendan is actually doing okay on sleep at the moment, but I can tell Aidan is very tired throughout the day. He's even fallen asleep on the living room floor a couple of times. He seems to be getting only about 10 hours per day instead of the 12 he got all winter long. Any advice would be great! Maybe we just need to ride it out until winter....

Too big!

In our house it's always monkey-see, monkey-do. I made sun tea the other day and brought it in the house to stir it up one last time before refrigerating it. Brendan wanted my wooden spoon when I was done. Then, of course, Aidan wanted a wooden spoon, too. Next thing I know they're eating their applesauce with them. Doesn't look very easy to me!

Scotte has the camera today because he is going to the kick-off for the special olympics here in Columbus. Last year we took the kids, but there is no way I'm going to sit out in the sun today. I have a lot of cute pics I want to get up here on my blog before we have a baby in the house, but they're all on the memory card in the camera. More to come later!

Pool

What do you do when it's 90 degrees outside and you're 9 months pregnant? You sit in the shade and sip iced tea while the kids play in their kiddie pool. It's a good thing they love it and are willing to spend a lot of time doing it. Otherwise, we are hiding in the house while being thankful for air-conditioning.

Boots

My brother has lived with an amazing cat, Mr. Boots, who has been with him through thick and thin. Boots had feline leukemia, and yesterday was his last day here with us. He went downhill pretty rapidly, so it was quite a surprise for my brother to lose Boots yesterday. We love you, Boots, and we will miss you.

Boots was like a dog, but with all the benefits of a cat. He followed my brother everywhere, only didn't have to be walked, taken out to go to the bathroom, or bathed. That cat rocked!!

Save Our Libraries!!

Hey, folks in the Columbus or Steubenville areas. Please take a moment to contact your legislators and help save our libraries! I am personally very passionate about libraries. I love taking the kids to the library, I always have 5 or 6 things checked out myself. I could spend days in the library if I had time to do so. I worked in my hometown library throughout high school. I love the libraries, and they are especially good for people who can't afford to buy books for their kids and for parents who want to encourage a love of reading in their children. Please visit the websites below where they make it easy to send a message to the governor and your local senator and representative. It will only take a minute of your time!!

Columbus Folks:

Visit the Website: SAVE OUR LIBRARY

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Governor Strickland has recommended the elimination of $200+ million from the Public Library Fund over the next two years.

WHAT IT MEANS: This proposal by the Governor cuts CML's state funding by 50%. These proposed 11 + million dollar cuts will be devastating: closing branches, halting new books and materials, and shutting down programs and services that are so vital to our community! Call the Governor's office at 614-466-3555.

Steubenville Folks:

Visit the Website: SAVE OUR LIBRARY

In July, five branch libraries will close (Adena, Brilliant, Dillonvale, Tiltonsville, and Toronto), bookmobile service eliminated, 35 staff layoffs and reduced hours at the Main Library and Schiappa Branch of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County if the Governor's propsed 2010-2011 biennium budget is accepted on July 1. Act NOW!

Governor Strickland is proposing a 50% cut to public library funding in addition to the 20% cut that 251 public libraries in Ohio have already received.

The Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County depends solely on the state funding as do 70% of the state's libraries in Ohio to fund operations.

You must act this week! Please help by contacting our elected state officials. Just visit the website above.

Happy Father's Day! Happy Birthday!

Happy Father's Day to Scotte, Pap Pap, Papa, and all the other fathers out there! Today also happens to be Nana's birthday, so Happy Birthday to Nana!! We wish we could be with all of you to celebrate.

We've kept it pretty low-key today. Scotte made us all breakfast (I know that's the opposite of the way it should work, but we bought him a new pan for Father's day and he wanted to try it out). Then we all played in the backyard (okay, Scotte was working in the yard, but the rest of us were playing). Boy, this doesn't sound like a very good Father's Day after all:)

Scotte enjoys cooking, and the pan we got him is right along his line of thinking...it's called the Green Pan. We also got him a Tapas cookbook to take him back to his days in Spain. Now I can only hope he'll whip us some tasty dishes.

Have a great day, everyone!! I miss you, Dad!! Love you! Nana and Papa, I hope you go out to dinner or do something fun!! Love you!

Holy Cow....

...I am going to be having a baby within the next couple of weeks. Where did 9 months go? I don't have anything around the house nearly the way I want it, although I feel like I work on things every spare moment I can. It's hard to find time during the day with the kids, and by evening I feel useless because I'm so tired.

I have washed most of the baby stuff, and am relieved that at least some of the stains came out. Many of the baby things we will be using have been borrowed from my sister (for the third time). For those items, this will be the fifth boy in five years to use them! Four boys produce a lot of spit-up stains! Actually, Aidan and Jacob didn't spit up much, but Glenn and Brendan were horrible. I feel bad for all the stains Brendan left on my sister's things. Luckily, she is forever done with them except for selling them at a yard sale or donating them. It is quite amazing to look at the number of onesies, receiving blankets and sleepers you collect by the time the fifth baby arrives! Liam's dresser and closet are very crowded at the moment.

Now, if I can only figure out how to keep the house spotless over the next couple of weeks...Tonight I'm going to try to scrub the kitchen floor after the kids go to bed. I really need to clean all of our downstairs window blinds. I still have to wash the newborn-sized cloth diapers. We keep running out of food, so I'm not sure how to keep the fridge stocked for when I leave for the hospital. Ahhhh! I did manage to pack a hospital bag. I learned that lesson when Aidan arrive 2 weeks early and I didn't feel one bit like packing the bag during labor.

Everyone send good thoughts to my hubby so he can stand to be around me for the next couple of weeks! I'm very grouchy!

Brendan

Today I have a few cute stories about Brendan.

Two days ago, he needed a fresh pair of underwear and I grabbed some Elmo ones that I had nearby. I'm tired and lazy at the moment and didn't feel like searching for more pairs and letting him pick. He loves to pick out underwear, but he likes Elmo so I thought it would be fine. He asked me for Cars undies, and I told him he could wear Cars next time. About 30 mins later, he completely peed his pants. Well, this was only his second pee accident since he started wearing underwear, so I was a little surprised. He came and told me he peed in his pants. Then he said, "Now can I have Cars undies?" Ummmm, do you think he did that on purpose?

This morning, Brendan wanted Rice Krispies for breakfast. He wanted to look at the box while he ate, and on the box there was a picture of a box of Fruit Loops. He has had Fruit Loops while visiting Grammy in the past, and he found them to be quite delightful. I think that since he gobbles up Cheerios and Rice Krispies we'll stick with those since they're free of dyes and have much less sugar. I haven't looked for organic fruit loops. Do they even make such a thing? Anyways, he asked me to go to Grammy's house so he could have Fruit Loops. I assured him that next time we visited Grammy he could have Fruit Loops for breakfast. Then, he asked me if he could get Fruit Loops from Santa for Christmas! It made me feel so bad. Am I really depriving him so much by not buying Fruit Loops? I guess it will be an easy Christmas:)

Happy Birthday Glenn Joseph!!

It seems like just yesterday when Glenn was born, but today he is 5 years old!!

We celebrated his birthday on Sunday when my parents came to town. He got a lot of presents, and the theme of the presents and party was "Star Wars." I don't know anything about Star Wars, but he seemed like the happiest kid ever and knew all the names of the action figures. The cake was super yummy, and the kids all loved singing to Glenn. Jacob fell asleep right before the cake, so he missed all the festivities. I'm sure he was bummed when he woke up, since he was ready to eat the cake as soon as his mommy picked it up from the store. The kids all love when Grammy and PapPap come to town. Frankly, so do I. Can't you move closer???
After presents and cake, the kids played in the pool. It is extra-special at Aunt Kelly and Uncle Glenn's house, because they have a slide going into their pool. Brendan and Glenn played for a long time. Brendan had no fear, which makes me nervous for when we visit Grammy and Pap Pap next and he sees their huge pool. I fear he will dive right in. Perhaps it's time for swim lessons. Aidan had the same love-hate relationship he's been having lately. Jacob slept through the whole thing:( For the first time ever, Aidan ate so much food at the party that I didn't have to open anything in my cooler. He likes pasta salad, which they had, but he also ate several things he usually avoids: watermelon, deviled eggs, and a veggie burger. He didn't want to touch any of the food with his hands, but he wanted to bite it and not have it cut up. Plus, he didn't want us to hold it for him because he wanted to do it himself. He ended up eating a lot of it like a dog. I know if Brendan was eating this way I would have yelled at him to use his hands or fork. I see the double standard starting already. I was more worried that he would actually eat the food than I cared how he was doing it.

New Slide

My parents visited us for the day today, and Aidan was finally given the slide that they bought him for his birthday. Aidan broke his leg the day before they were going to give it to him back in April. We set up the slide, and Aidan is having a love-hate relationship with slides at the moment. He didn't want to do it, but we tried to convince him. Scotte held onto him the whole way down. He seemed to like it and smiled, and then he started saying "No!" We'll just have to help him regain his confidence.

Brendan is fascinated by anything Scotte builds, so he was right in the middle of slide construction...

Hooray!!!!!!!!

Imagine my surprise when I woke up to this today! I should have complained a little earlier:) He's still unsteady, but I am thrilled as can be! So is he!

Still Not Walking!

Aidan is still not able to walk, and it makes me so sad. Check out his left leg (the one that was broken) as he walks across the room holding Scotte's hands (don't mind the mess; the kids had been playing with toys all day). I really hope he can get strong enough to walk before the baby comes.

Today we went to the playground, and I tried to reintroduce him to a tiny slide and the swings. He was petrified and was clinging to me very hard and saying "No!" It makes me sad! I think by the time summer is over he will be back to his old self again.

Brendan's New Room

We have so many projects going on right now! We were redecorating our guest bedroom for Brendan so we can use his old room for baby Liam, and we finally got Brendan moved into his new room this past weekend. I am so relieved! We still have to paint his dresser, buy a curtain, and I have to finish the closet, but otherwise we're good to go.

With Aidan and Brendan being 16 months apart, we needed two cribs. The cribs both convert to beds, but we certainly don't want to buy another crib. So, we decided to go ahead and just buy a new bed. Aidan really likes routine and habit, so we decided that Brendan was a better candidate for a new room. We're going to spruce Aidan's room up a little bit this fall.

Brendan moved into his room yesterday, and he LOVES it. Today, we spent almost every minute that we weren't at an appointment playing in his room. Aidan also loves it, and is having a blast in Brendan's new bed. It almost makes me feel guilty that we did a new room for Brendan instead of Aidan. The bed is so big, though, that I would be nervous having Aidan in there. Aidan can get down okay, but he is having trouble getting up. Maybe when his leg is stronger...Plus, at some point we can convert Aidan's bed to it's full size.

The kids love to play the game where they tell everyone to go to sleep, then suddenly someone shouts "Wake Up!!" and everyone jumps up. It's fun on Brendan's bed because everyone can fit on the same bed.

Today, Brendan was begging to color at the small tale we put in his room. Aidan just wanted to cut. They spent quite awhile cutting and coloring while I rested on Brendan's bed:) Maybe it isn't so bad playing up there all day after all....

Now we need to finish the rest of our projects...finishing our screened-in porch, building a playhouse for the kids, finishing Brendan's dresser, getting everything organized for the baby, washing our windows....we still haven't planted our vegetable garden yet. That has to be done this week! If only we can find the time...

My Boys

Lately, I think my boys are looking more and more alike. I think a lot of it is because Brendan got his hair cut short. Brendan used to be blonde, but now his hair is the same color as Aidan's. They also have the same noses and ears. I wonder what baby Liam is going to look like...

Miracle League

Aidan has baseball on Saturdays (Miracle League). Scotte made a quick movie from last weeks game. I think Aidan will be in a stroller for part of this weeks game, too. Even though the cast is off, he still can't walk. I will be happy when he can "run" the bases again.

Hungry Hungry

Don't ask me why, but in the last couple of weeks Aidan has been willing to eat so many foods he usually avoids. He is always so proud of himself (probably because we get so excited)!! You can bet I have a photo of all of them!! The list includes blueberries, oreos, cinnamon rolls, potatoes, graham crackers, apple slices, and toaster muffin tops (which Brendan enjoys for breakfast). I have also hidden so many things from him in smoothies, which he will gulp down in minutes: kiwi, cantaloupe, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, oranges, etc. He has always enjoyed the flavors of many fruits, but he gags at the texture of most fruit unless it's pureed (applesauce, etc.). I think it will be great for him to expand his food repertoire. He is a very healthy eater; he loves veggies, rice, pasta, and yogurt. But, we would love to be able to just go anywhere and not worry about what he will have to eat. He is not just being a picky child. He has strong physical aversions to some food textures. I carry a cooler with me everywhere. He is taking some huge steps! For some strange reason, I have this goal of him being over his bread aversion by the time he is in school all day so I can pack him a sandwich for lunch.

Have you ever seen...

...a cat sleep like this??!!

Water Fun!!

We have had to avoid water activities for 6 weeks because of Aidan's cast. Aidan is a water child, so it's been hard. His favorite activities include swimming, taking a bath, and playing with his water table. The day he got his cast off we spent almost 2 hours playing with the water table, and then took a bubble bath. He was happy as can be! Plus, he was thirlled with his new "Super Sleuths" bathing suit!

He was standing at the water table just fine for awhile, but his good leg must have been working really hard because it started to shake by the time he was done. At the end, he could barely stand up, poor guy. After we were done, I let him watch Sesame Street while I made dinner. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the floor.

Aidan can take a few steps holding our hands, but he is limping quite a bit. Whenever he tries to walk without us his leg just buckles and he falls down. He seems really mad that his leg isn't working the way he thinks it should be. Hopefully he'll get stronger soon!