A Foot Update

Ever since my Allie was born, we have had to deal with foot deformities.  She was 8 months old when she got her first set of casts. We've gone through multiple casts and multiple pairs of corrective shoes to get us to where we are today!

Kevin and I had talked about where we should go from here.  Her left foot is still a bit turned in and we knew things still weren't perfect with either foot so we decided to make another appointment with the orthopedic doctor here in town.  We found out the doctor we had been seeing retired and they referred us to a new doctor in town. We saw him and he wanted us to go to Indy to see the specialist at Riley and get his thoughts.

We went a few weeks ago.  We had a great trip up!  We stopped to see my friend Amy and then had lunch with my sister and my niece.  Allie knew she was going to see a foot doctor and she asked if she would have to get any shots.  She didn't seem to have a worry in the world once we told her no shots, he was just going to look at her feet.

We waited about an hour past our scheduled appointment time to be seen. The orthopedic doctors here in Evansville (that we have seen) are all very nice but very short on their time spent with the patient.  They talk a mile a minute and seem ready to go to the next patient.  This specialist was the opposite.  He came in, shook our hands and talked to Allie for several minutes before even looking at her feet.  He spent about a minute looking at them, had her do some walking and running down the hallways, then finally asked us some questions about how her feet are affecting her.  

He said her feet are not severely turned in, and normally when he does surgery those feet are considered "severe" and hers are more mild and moderate.  He also said as she gets older, they may straighten out a bit more on their own.

He also told us a couple new things too.  She has skewfoot, which I had noticed a problem with her heels but it was never called anything with the doctors we had seen in Evansville. It means her foot and ankle make a Z.  He also said she is slightly flat footed.  He said with the skewfoot being present, it's another reason he would suggest not operating . While the metatarsus adductus (foot turning in) would get better, she'd be left with big scars on each foot and the skew foot would actually worsen.

He finished by saying that the casting and shoe wearing was definitely helpful to her when she was younger. And since there are no problems or limitations with her running or playing or being a normal 5 year old girl, we should leave things the way they are.  We were relieved to hear the good news and felt good knowing we did everything we could have and should have done to correct things.

Before we left, I asked him about shoes.  I didn't know if we should be buying top of the line shoes for her with lots of support.  He told me I'd be surprised by how many problems shoe wearing cause in our country and that being barefoot is actually best for her and she can wear whatever shoes she likes.  Allie heard that and has been wanting to be barefoot ever since.

We are glad this chapter in her life is over and we aren't worried about surgery in the future!

Florida 2015 - Reflections

While vacation is fun, exciting, and a great change from the day to day norm, it's always nice to come back home.  We missed our pets, and we know they missed us too.  After getting a good night sleep back in my own bed, I was surprised by my bad mood our first full day home.  We had just gotten back home, so I thought I should be happy, and feel less stressed, but I actually felt the opposite!

The kids were all being well behaved, they were playing together great, and I couldn't make sense of this feeling I was feeling.  I kept having these whispers with God like, "Why am I feeling this way", "Shouldn't being home be relaxing to me?", "I have no reason to be in a bad mood; show me what is causing this stress ."  And He did.  I started thinking about what was so relaxing about vacation, and comparing that with what wasn't so relaxing here.  It was clear the problem was I was weighed down by all the "stuff" in our house.  I know it didn't help that my counter and table were loaded with bags to unpack, but my floor was covered with pillows, blankets, toys, shoes, and whatever else the kids found and got out in the few short hours we had been home.

I took some time to process all this before I talked to Kevin.  I told him that when we were on vacation, we just had what we needed.  I wasn't bogged down with tons of excess.  I told him I'd like to have a yard sale and just start getting rid of extra things.  He very much agreed.

I'm hopeful that in the next week or so, I'll make some serious progress in decluttering and lightening our load here at home!

Florida 2015 - Family Pictures

Florida 2015 - Fun Things We Did + Pictures

We filled our 6 days in Florda with lots of fun!  Some highlights were:

1. Kevin and I went on a date during the kids naps one afternoon.  We shopped at the outlet mall and found lots of goodies, went zip lining at the harbor, and ate dinner at an amazing restaurant (McGuires Irish Pub).  
   
2. Kevin's parents found a pirate excursion online months before we went down and they were excited to take the kids on it.  It's called the Buccaneer Pirate Cruise and it takes you out in the water for about 2 hours.  There were water gun fights, hula hoop contests, face painting, and the kids favorite was the treasure chest pulled out of the ocean full of cheapy toys.  The crew was all funny and entertaining.  They take your picture when you get on the ship, which I liked.  Some adult passengers gave us their pirate eye patches as we boarded and the kids loved that.  It was a bit pricey, but the kids really did enjoy it.  
   
   
   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   
   
3. We went go kart racing.  The first race, kids and adults paired up.  I drove Krissy, Kevin drove Allie, and Papaw drove Hayden.  Mamaw stayed back to watch with Austin because he was about a half inch too short to ride.  Kevin and Allie won the first race.  Kevin and I did a second race in the individual go karts and you better believe I won that one.  He claimed I won because I started infront of him.  The next day we went back for one more race and I let him start first.  And I killed it.  I was so far ahead of Kevin I thought I may lap him.  He claims his car was slower than mine, but I just think I have some good go-kart skills ;)
4. September was the greatest time of the year to go!  There were no crowds for anything.  There was no traffic so driving around was easy peasy.  And the weather was gorgeous.  We had a threat of a hurricane, Erika, but it changed course and dissipated!  Like I said earlier, we went shopping at the outlets, and with the combination of Labor Day and the peak season being over, the sales were ridiculously amazing.  Most stores were 50% off!
   
   
   
   
5. We ate ate several great restaurants.  I mentioned McGuires from our date day, but we also ate at a BBQ place in Baytowne Wharf, Kilwins & Brusters for ice cream, Pompano Joes, Donut Hole, and Jordanos Pizza.  It may sound like we ate out a lot, but we cooked several meals at our villa too!  I made breakfast almost every morning and we had several lunches and a couple dinners (thanks to Kevin's grilling) there as well.
   
   
   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
6. The place we stayed was the nicest yet.  It was a villa, which was a step up from a condo, and we had a beautiful view of the lake on property thanks to a wrap around, covered, back porch.  It was so close to the beach (about a 3 minute walk), and all the rooms were big and spacious.  We normally get a 2 bedroom condo, but this villa had 3 bedrooms.  It also had 3 bathrooms which was nice!  
   
   
   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
7. I made everyone suffer through some family pictures one evening.  Everyone is usually annoyed with pictures, but I love having them when we get home.  I brought my tripod and Nikon camera and used the self timer for our group pictures.  It works so well!  I also stole Krissy one morning and took some pictures of her for her upcoming 3rd birthday!  I can't wait to share those with you, but you'll have to wait till the 20th!