Birthday boy!!

Brent turned 35 today!!! (well I suppose this post will show up as the 18th - but his birthday was the 17th). In his honor...(drumroll)...for the first time EVER...we (throat clears)...spent the night O-U-T!!! (dun dun dunnn)

Brent has a very good friend who got married on Friday night. After a bit of planning, and a bit of help from Auntie Zoo and Mommom, I nervously booked a room (a master suite to be exact) at a nearby bed and breakfast so that we could go to the wedding which was about an hour and a half away from Mommom's house, and not have a long way to drive afterward.

It was a very long day for us. Mary Louise and David had eye exams in New Orleans in the morning which went a little like this...appt. 9am. On the way there, we hit nasty weather and bumper to bumper traffic. We arrived at about 9:15. They said it was no problem. We were called "into the back" at 10:30. We actual saw the doctor and were examined at 11:30. We left the parking lot after a 15 minute pumping session at 12:30. Oh yes. With 2 15 month olds, we endured a 3 hour eye appointment. It was, in a word, difficult. In another word, exhausting.

The exams themselves went well - or the findings did anyhow. Mary Louise was so bruised and upset by the actual exam that she looked like she'd been in a prize fight when we left. David was so tired that by the time the doctor showed to look at him, he was fast asleep - which is great for ANY exam BUT an eye exam right?

Anyhow, Mary Louise continues to show no signs of nearsightedness or farsightedness. No crossing nor wandering. Her ROP has not returned. The surgical sights appear to be holding and her retinas "look good". David did not receive such glowing reviews, but we have a stay of operation for now. His left eye has been starting to turn out and wander a bit. It is especially - and sometimes only - notable when he is very tired or just waking. He shows no signs of astigmatism, nearsightedness nor farsightedness. But he did show a little bit of crossing. Right now, glasses are not indicated and the best route to "fix the problem" would be surgery. However, as the issue is non-imposing and very mild as of yet, we are (ha) keeping an eye on the situation for another 6 months. Should things worsen, we will bring him back immediately (easier said than done of course) for possible patching or eventually, surgery (blegh - things are never quite done are they?).

From the appointment, we had a quick lunch with Uncle Damon who works very nearby, Mommom took the babies back with her, and we (Brent and I) were off on our 1 night excursion...

We had a really nice time. The wedding was beautiful - and the couple was gorgeous. When we arrived at the B&B, there was chilled wine and fresh strawberries, cream, chocolate, crackers and cheeses waiting there for us. We ended up being the only ones in the house overnight and the manager opened all of the rooms for us to see!

We smiled as we looked at each other, had the gift of time for the first time in almost 2 years, and laid down to (you guessed it) take a nap...followed by a night bubble bath in the clawfoot tub for me! I dawdled and dilly dallied getting ready - such a luxury. I took extra time with my hair and put lotion on my knees and heels (spoiled once again)! We leisurely made our way to the wedding, the reception, and back to the house for a quiet night in what turned out to be an empty house. We woke at 6:30am. Go figure...our only chance to sleep in and we are wide awake and ready to get back to our little ones with sun up.

But, we had a really wonderful time just - well - spending a bit of time with each other, chatting, giggling, and enjoying one another. We had a yummy and HUGE breakfast and made our way back home. Mommom and Auntie Zoo did well overnight - as evidenced by their exhausted smiles and by the fact that they didn't say, "well, I'll never do that again" upon our return. (We'll take that).

Many thanks to everyone who helped to make Brent's birthday really special and to our precious little ones for behaving as best they could in our short absence.

xo,
Heather