Here we go, again.

*sigh*
My sweet Gabriela was diagnosed with intermittent Strabismus exotropia when she was almost a year old. Strabismus is an eye-alignment disorder. Thankfully, we were referred to one of the foremost authorities on strabismus Dr. David Granet, a pediatric ophthamologist at UCSD's Shiley Eye Center in La Jolla.
Initially, we tried patch therapy to preserve the vision in the drifting eye.

After about six months of patching, it was suggested that it was prudent to have bilateral strabismus surgery on the outside muscles of her eyes. We thought long and hard about the surgery because it is a serious surgery.  There is no guarantee that it will help and it could possibly make things worse.  However, it was the only option that would maintain her eyesight.  The surgery was a success!  Here are some shots from before and after her surgery. 

We noticed, about six months ago, that Gabriela's eye was occassionally drifting out of alignment again. Although, she has been able to self-correct her alignment by focusing on a close item, this exercise was becoming a futile effort as her eye was misaligning more and more.  Therefore, we met with Dr. Granet again.  
It is time to do strabismus surgery again; however, this time on the inside muscles.  It will be a much longer recovery time and since the muscles will be disconnected, and reattached tighter, the surgery carries more risk.  :(  I hate this.  Additionally, she will need to do vigorous eye exercises in conjunction with the surgery.  Sweet baby girl.  I remember seeing her leave with the anesthesiologist during her first surgery (one of the pictures above) and it broke my heart. 
Well, here we go again. 
Her surgery will take place in June, after school is out.  On a happier note, here are some cute pictures of her sporting the disposable glasses offered after dilation and my sunglasses which she thought were far cuter.  :)  Love that baby girl!

Oh, really?

While putting laundry away Sunday afternoon, I found the following note on the girls' bedroom door. 

:)  

Later, I learned that this was directed at Daniel. Apparently, Cristina had reached her limit. 

On another note, Rene and I went to see Pavement last Thursday night up in Pomona.  It was a phenomenal show!  Here is some video that someone in the audience shot.  Good times!

Twinkling Tessellations

Here is my newest quilt!   I am calling it Twinkling Tessellations for what I think are obvious reasons.  I used April Cornell's line called Nature's Notebook.   The pattern was from Quiltmaker magazine and I think it was called "Black and White."  In the pattern, they used coordinating black and white fabrics.  It looked nice, but I really wanted to use the jelly roll and make each "star" from the same fabric.  I like the way it turned out.  This quilt is especially meaningful to me, because I am donating it to a good cause.  Kaitlyn's Promise holds an annual crop to raise funds for the Kaitlyn Vallery Memorial Scholarship and I am donating it (along with another yet unfinished quilt) to be raffled at the event. 

The day the refrigerator died....

Saturday morning, when I grabbed the half-n-half from the fridge, I knew we had a problem.  Our refrigerator had given out.  It was still cool in there, but the motor was no longer cooling.   Additionally, the floor was sopping wet because everything in the freezer was thawing. 
We had plans to do a mini-remodel of the kitchen and tear out some cabinets to make room for a commericial-grade Subzero fridge; however, those plans were for later rather than sooner.  That wouldn't work!   Our little family can't do without a refrigerator for long enough for us to get that together.
So, we gathered all of our coolers, packed our goods with ice, and felt like we were camping in our own kitchen.  We even invited Karol and Tom over to enjoy a "mixed-grill" of meats that wouldn't fit into the coolers.  Delicious!

Thankfully, our new refrigerator was delivered Sunday.  Obviously, it wasn't the one that we had planned, but it'll do. 
All's well that chills well.  Sorry, for the lame pun.  :-)

Where the magic happens...*wink*

Sorry, I am having problems uploading pictures on a "social-networking" site, so please ignore.  :)
By the way, I like to say that the theme of my kitchen is "Early American Junk" and my style is "Cluttered." 
Enjoy. 

Just a fun pic of my favorite iron skillets doin' what they do best!   Mmmmmmmm!

For my sister: If you like the color, I can dig around in the garage and find the name of the paint. Let me know. I love you!