Markers, Poop, and Glasses...in that order

Friday Isabella and I decided to do a little toddler craft. Well, I decided. But she agreed.

The craft is this: you use markers to draw and scribble on coffee filters, then use paint brushes (or a spray bottle) and water to saturate the coffee filter. The colors will blend and make nice, soft patterns.

The best part is, Isabella LOVES markers, as evidenced by the television set, shelf, UBFunkey toys, clothing, and many other items I've had to clean marker out of (tip: rubbing alcohol will get permanent marker off of almost anything). I was happy to let her indulge her passion for markers.





And the finished product:



We came inside later for a diaper change and so I could get her marked-up clothes in the wash (I did have the foresight to use washable markers!). I took off her clothes and she took that as her signal to whip off her diaper.

It was like slow motion. Before I could get to her, she had taken the diaper off, walked it to the trash can, and tossed it in. Unfortunately, she left a trail of carnage from her departure point all the way to the trash can.

And, *barf*, there were identifiable sun-dried tomato pieces in her...ummm...leavings. I have been having some major cravings for sun-dried tomatoes, and couldn't get enough of them. Yeah, not so much now.

I did manage to get her, her clothes, and her doody trail cleaned up without further incident. I did imagine how horrific that could have been with a newborn in tow. Things are going to get very interesting this Spring.

Yesterday the boys and I had eye exams in the morning. Isabella wore her ON kitty Halloween top and the Guess skirt I got for a steal ($5!) from Macys.com. Didn't she look so cute?



The eye appointments went smoothly, but we found out Xavier is near-sighted and needs glasses. He had an eye exam right before school started as part of his physical but it wasn't nearly as in-depth. He was pretty disappointed.

He's about the same age I was, and the same age Adrian was, when we first started having to wear glasses. I am hoping he will be amazed by how much clearer his vision is with glasses.

I was in the middle of my exam when they took him to look at glasses, which was a disappointment because I knew he needed consoling. Unfortunately, Adrian had taken Isabella to run some errands while we had our exams.

When I was able to join Xavier he had chosen the glasses he liked. He was still unhappy about wearing glasses. He thinks glasses are for "nerds", and he does already have some problems with social-type stuff at school. Poor guy.

The lady who assisted us was c-r-a-z-y. She was a little too syrupy in her pep talk with him and pretty much just assumed that her opinion and thoughts carried more weight than what I could say to him, so she directed the conversation.

She told Xavier that her son had to get glasses at age 11 and that he was very sad about it too. So sad, he had to go to the hospital.

Orian pipes up, "Why did he have to go to the hospital?"

"He was so sad he stopped talking."

Thanks, lady. That's reassuring. Great anecdote.

I had Xavier try on a few more pairs of glasses just to be sure he was getting what he wanted, but in the end, he liked the glasses he had picked out previously best, and they do look really nice on them. He has a good face for glasses and I think he will look really handsome.

I remember my first pair of glasses. They were bargain basement and big and brown and plastic, with big, thick lenses. I remember hoping to accidentally break them. I really thought it would help soften the blow and boost his confidence if Xavier choose the glasses that he liked and that made him feel like he looked good.

Unfortunately, those great-looking, kid-friendly, hard-to-destroy Disney brand glasses come with a nearly $300 price tag. The recommended lenses were the *something* kind that are scratch resistant and nice and thin @ $130. The frames were $140.

I think glasses, like everything else, have gone up in price. But it's worth it if these make him feel more comfortable about wearing glasses.

They won't be ready until Tuesday, but pictures of Xavier in his new eyewear will be forthcoming. He really did pick out a nice looking pair.