Parent/Teacher Conferences

I just can't believe these grocery store roses.  They were only $4 and stun me with their beauty anew each morning. I think they are the perfect shade of pink and I hope that the shop will stock them again.

Tonight was our first parent teacher conference of the school year.  Our daughter is doing extemely well so far and loves her teachers.  Eighth grade has been very kind to us.  She is more familiar with the public school setting and is also feeling much better physically than she was last year.  It is hard to believe that it has been nearly a year since her Crohn's Disease diagnosis.

I feel like the transition from homeschooling to public schooling has been fairly smooth for her and for me.  I had a lot of anxiety about the changes she would face and was fearful that I had not prepared her for a different type of schooling or that she would not be at the same academic level as her peers.  Thank God, that was not the case.  She is keeping up with everyone and has made a number of friends.  The teachers love her!  They have also not sneered at our choice to home educate.  Her science teacher even suggested that I make homeschooling my career since our girl has turned out so well!  Ha!  If only it were that simple!

Infusion Day

Prayers for France Tonight

Day Seven: Seven Days, One Dress

Day seven of the Seven Days, One Dress Challenge is here! This outfit reminds me of the ones I've been admiring in the series House of Eliott!

Day Six: Seven Day, One Dress

Day six of the Seven Days, One Dress Challenge! I decided to turn yesterday's scarf into a cape/sweater thing by knotting two corners together on each side. Wearing the scarf this way is a little out of my comfort zone, but it's a handy tie for the spring.

Day Five: Seven Days, One Dress

We are on day five of the Seven Days, One Dress Challenge! Today I'm going to wear a knit blazer over my dress and this pretty scarf knotted round my neck.

Day Four: Seven Days, One Dress

It's day four of the  Seven Days, One Dress challenge! Persimmon earrings and a vintage scarf I found at an antique shop before I was married complete my look today!

Day Three: Seven Days, One Dress

Day three of the Seven Days, One Dress challenge! It's gloomy and a little chillier than yesterday, so I'm wearing my dress (freshly washed and dried last night) with a beaded necklace and light wool sweater coat. I'll probably take it off as it warms up and put it back on around dinnertime. I am also wearing my persimmon dangly earrings again today.

Day Two: Seven Days, One Dress

Today is day two of the Seven Days, One Dress Challenge! It's going to be a warm day today (84 degrees F!), so I'm keeping everything light and airy with my favorite watch, persimmon colored earrings and my rose-gold linen scarf.

Day One: Seven Days, One Dress

Today is Day One of the Seven Days, One Dress Challenge!

Garent Hill Maxi Dress

Jones Market Chocolate Bead Necklace 

J. Crew Denim Snap Front Shirt

Seven Days, One Dress

I have a tenancy to wear the exact same outfits over and over and reach for the same accessories (same scarf and same everyday jewelry that never comes off). Recently, I have been inspired by an ad that @wool.and posted and a video I watched on YouTube by Susan Over 60 that shows a person wearing the same clothing (a dress or top and trousers, but it could be any base layer) and accessorizing it differently over the course of a week or so. Since I don't have a wool& dress (I hope that will change soon as they plan offer one with a longer length!), I decided to experiment with a dress I already have in my closet. It's black jersey and maxi length. I've chosen several different pieces (sweaters and a denim shirt to wear over the dress, as well as approximately eight different accessories I already have on my closet. I'll mix and match everything to create seven different outfits that I'll wear from April 6 to April 12. I'll be sure to share each day's outfit here and then hopefully have a compilation video up on YouTube when the experiment is all over! Anyone want to join in with me?

This and That

The daffs are out in full force here. This is the first year they've been this abundant. Are we on our way to drifts of dally-down-dillies? I think so! 

The boys did their schoolwork while we waited for the mechanic to tune up the car this morning and then we had lunch out. I also took the opportunity to pop into Target for a few bottles of lilac scented hand soap, tea towels, and some probiotics for our daughter and then we spent some time at the bookstore. I particularly enjoyed reading the winter issue of Town & Country (British edition) which had an article on The Romanovs and their connection to the British monarchy. 

There's presanctified at church tonight and a pot-luck meal afterwards. I'll be bringing minestrone soup to share.

Grey Days

 

This was a pretty rough week for our family. We are grieving my poor grandfather's death after a rapid decline on December 29th and almost simultaneously, our daughter's infusion drug wore off and she was plunged back into the severe symptoms of Crohn's disease. She was finally admitted for an overnight at the hospital on Friday morning for a work-up and infusion. My darling husband took care of her so that I could attend Poppy Chick's Memorial in Brooklyn. She seems to be returning to health following the infusion, thank God. Please pray for the repose of the soul of grandfather, Charles, and peace for my grandmother, Judith.

Glory to God in the Highest

I realized today that the Lord preserved our child from much greater damage from Crohn's. We visited our GI doctor in mid-July (only one month before her symptoms began) for the first time. Our middle son had been having bouts of inexplicable vomiting for over a year, and our lackadaisical pediatrician finally agreed to give him a referral to a GI doctor at Johns Hopkins. We went and had some testing done, discovering that he likely has a condition called Cyclical Vomiting which is usually a precursor to migraines (something both my husband and I suffer from). After being blown off by our pediatrician regarding our daughter's worrisome symptoms for two months, I took the bull by the horns and made an appointment with the GI doctor for the beginning of November. Thank God she saw us, agreed that there was something wrong, and ordered testing. If we had not already been patients, we may not have been able to get in so quickly. If we had waited, our poor girl would be in much worse shape!

Home from the Hospital

We got home at about 11:30 last night and tried to get right back into our routine today.  I spent some time at speech with our youngest and had a meeting with our daughter's school to discuss the Crohn's and how to help her catch up.  We are really fortunate to have such a caring group of people teaching our girl.  I have a lot to be thankful for!

Day Four

The hospital's Artist in Residence stopped by to teach our daughter how to needle felt this afternoon! She made an owl and is already asking to get the supplies to try her hand at other animals.  

We also took advantage of having a Child Life Coordinator and started the process of learning how to take pills in a fun and easy way.  She has chocolate sprinkles, Nerds, mini M&Ms, Smarties, and Tic Tacs to try swallowing.

 

We're really looking forward to discharge tonight.  It will be so good to see our boys!

Day Three

 Another beautiful hospital sunrise and late-night movies with my girl.  Day three in the hospital was rough (and included finding out the hard way that she is allergic to Barium).  We have a diagnosis of Crohn's Disease and will be starting treatment tomorrow.

Day Two

Today was pretty rough for our little girl.  She had a few tests that required some unpleasant preparations and was unable to eat until everything was over (She ate breakfast at 7am on Monday and didn't have anything else until 7 or 8 pm on Tuesday).  Fortunately, I think that the worst is over and we will just have to wait for results and a diagnosis. 

It was wonderful to see a gorgeous vase of flowers from Auntie Anna and Uncle Justin when we came back from the tests.  They've really brought some cheer to the hospital room.  We're also fortunate to have a large window that overlooks the city and the hospital's helicopter pad.  It sounds like we'll be here for few more days, so we really appreciate these little luxuries!

Getting to the Bottom of Things

 Our daughter has been having some tummy trouble for months and the time came, today, to finally get to the bottom of it all.  I am thankful for attentive medical staff, loving family, our girl who smiles through all the invasive tests she's had to endure so far, delicious yarn to work with, and a window with a gorgeous city view.

Election Day

 Pancakes and bacon gave me the strength I needed to face my civic duty today.  Actually, it was more tiresome to deal with social media and the endless nagging to vote than it was to actually fill in the little bubbles and send my ballot off.  I took a photo of my 'I Voted" sticker like everyone else did today, though.  I mean, if I didn't post a picture of my sticker on Instagram today, did I even cast a ballot?