I started to notice something was going on Wednesday when Mom was back and forth to the trailer all day. The site of packing is a source of concern for me, even when Mom tells me that I am going. So I stood by the door. That way they wouldn’t forget me. Mom seemed to be annoyed with me since I was standing in her way every time she opened the door.

Finally on Thursday they loaded me in the car and I relaxed a bit. I never know when we are getting to our spot (they don’t give me the map or itinerary and I wouldn’t be able to hold it anyway) so instead I get excited each time we stop, thinking “this could be the place.” After a really long time in the car, we finally arrive at the campsite and I can get out of the car. I must investigate every square inch – this could take some time. I detect the presence of other non-humans. Must research further.

SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!

Potty break. When we camp with our friends, the Craigs, I like to go potty in their campsite.

On this trip we got to go with Quinn and Griffin. Even though they don’t have a dog, they still play with me. Quinn is really nice to me and gives me lots of tummy pats. Dad gets my mat out of the trailer, but I don’t like this one as much as our friend Allison’s so I lie on hers instead. I finally get to have dinner (I was convinced this was the day they forgot). After the kids go to bed, Mom and Dad and the other parents sit around the campfire and have beverages that make them laugh a lot. It seems like forever before I get to go to bed, but they are having fun. I like to go to bed.

My bed is in the car because I have been told that I snore so I can’t sleep in the trailer. It is OK, I like the peace and quiet. In the morning Dad gets me up and I get all excited and do the puppy run. Even though I am older now I can still run. Although the last time I did it I blew out my ACL.

During the days while camping it is hard for me to take my naps — there are just too many people to watch and things to do. The kids run around all day; don’t they get tired? At least Will still takes a nap, and usually Mom makes me lay down and take a nap too. The older boys ride bikes, play in the sand, go to the playground, find sticks and then do it all over again. I get tired just watching them.

All of the family went down to the beach and flew these things in the sky (kites, I think Mom said). It was really windy so it was hard to see, but Will kept spilling his snack so I got to clean up. My favorite thing about camping is cleaning up after the meals. It’s vacation for everyone.

Finally the next day we went to the beach and I got to swim. I love to swim; the boys even throw the stick for me. Although I am a retriever by name, I drop the stick in the water within 1 yard of the shore. I like to frustrate my Mom and Dad with this trick. Mom didn’t like that I was rolling in the dirt and sand, but it feels so good for reasons I will never disclose.

When we got in the car to come home I was happy because I was tired, but sad because I had fun. I like going camping because my whole family is together.

When I am working in my office Will loves to come in and play on the window sill. He does well playing on his own, but just doesn’t like to be alone. Needless to say I am less productive when he is in with me, because he is so cute.

A few weekends ago I was able to go on a scrapbooking weekend with some friends — pure bliss. It was organized by a friend of theirs who is a Creative Memories rep in a house designed for scrapbooking that is located about 45 minutes away. She handled all the meals and each person had a table for all their projects. We shared a bedroom, so it was part girl’s weekend and part working weekend.

My first projects were to finally complete the boy’s baby books and get Jack’s school and sports book started. I also put all of our holiday cards and letters into an album. These are the paper scrapbook projects that I will continue to do, since I still like it. Then I set out on our family album project.

For our annual family albums I decided to use Mixbook, a digital scrapbook & custom photo book website. I like the flexibility of the layouts, choices of backgrounds and stickers. You can choose any of the backgrounds or stickers from their library regardless of what theme you are using. It looked as close to a paper scrapbook as it could considering it all elements on the pages where printed. Before I left for the scrapbooking weekend I upload several years’ worth of photos into projects on Mixbook’s site.

Overall I like the Mixbook experience. Since you work on it in a browser, sometimes it can get slow and not responsive to quick clicks. Their search mechanism for finding hundreds of backgrounds and stickers could be easier. Some search terms brought up odd results, so I found myself sorting through hundreds of possibilities. I started working on the Mixbook family albums on Saturday morning and by Sunday afternoon had completed two years (two complete albums) and was three months into the third. I could feel the guilt lifting.

Several people were interested in how it works, so I put together a “Getting Started with Mixbook” tutorial for you. If you are at all interested in trying one, I would definitely recommend it, even for a small project like a holiday or vacation. You can make them as simple or complex as you like.

Disclaimer: I am a Mixbook affiliate, but have not been solicited by Mixbook to write this post. All of the opinions expressed here are mine. If you are interested in trying Mixbook, please use my affiliate link.

Similar to how a camera works, the eye works by letting in light that bounces off of objects and focusing the light on the back of the eye or retina. The light enters the eye by passing through the cornea, which is a thin membrane on the outside of the eye, protecting the eye from outside objects. Next the light passes through the pupil which dilates bigger or smaller depending upon how bright it is. The darker the area, the larger the pupil is. The lens then focuses the light so that when it reaches the retina it is a sharply focused image. The lens flattens out to focus on far away objects and thickens to focus close. People who wear glasses and contacts need help focusing the lens correctly. As we get older, the lens hardens making it harder to focus on things up close (this is why it gets harder to read your prescription bottles and have to hold them father away to focus).

After passing through the clear fluid in the center of the eye called the vitreous gel, the light reaches the retina. Rods and cones on the retina turn the light into electrical signals and send those signals to the brain via the optic nerve. Cones are located in the central part of the retina called the macula. They are responsible for sharp detail and color. The rods are on the outside of the macula and provide the peripheral vision. The brain translates those electrical signals into the image we see.

The eyes work separately taking in the light and our brain creates what we see by putting the images from the eyes together. This allows us to have accurate vision of our three dimensional world. If you try covering one eye, you will notice how your field of vision changes and makes it more difficult to tell depth and dimension.

Hopefully this overview will help you understand how your eyes work and an appreciation of this complex and sophisticated visual system.

Photo credit – Baltimore Eye Care

The boys treated me to a Mother’s Day picnic at a park not far from our house. It was a beautiful day and the perfect activity. Both boys wanted to do the monkey bars. Jack was successful on his own. Will needed help, Jim is just off camera. Have you tried the monkey bars lately? They are harder on my hands than I remember was a kid.

My first thought was, “What year is it? Aren’t we past all this?” The 40^th anniversary of Title IX is coming up in about a month and Our Lady of Sorrows’ decision is an unfortunate reminder that discrimination still exists. I feel bad for Paige and all of her teammates, because they lost out on the opportunity to prove that gender doesn’t matter — if you are capable and prove it, then isn’t that enough? They deserved the chance to finish their undefeated season with a legitimate win for the championship.

I wonder what this is teaching all of the boys and girls involved and those that are reading about it in the news? As these children grow up and prepare for the rest of their life, they will face environments where men and women work side by side each day. Isn’t it better to teach them as early as possible to exist and work as a team while respecting each other? Women struggle for equality in the workplace and in life already and we don’t need a school, let alone a Catholic one, reinforcing these archaic views. This decision by a school that claims to follow the teachings of Catholicism seems incongruous and inconsistent with the letter and message sent by Pope John Paul II to women of the world on June 29, 1995. In the letter posted on the Vatican’s web site, Pope John Paul II states:

“…There is an urgent need to achieve real equality in every area: equal pay for equal work, protection for working mothers, fairness in career advancements, equality of spouses with regard to family rights and the recognition of everything that is part of the rights and duties of citizens in a democratic State. This is a matter of justice but also of necessity.”

My mom instilled in me that my sister and I could do anything we wanted regardless of our gender. We are strong women who are now raising four boys. Our boys are respectful and loving and consider women as their equal, not the lesser sex. If only everyone saw it that way.

As summer approaches and our lifestyles increase in activity we all want to maintain a simple beauty routine while still staying on trend. Who wants to spend lots of time only to sweat it off? Here are some great products I have found to help keep my summer beauty routine quick and easy and trend-worthy.

Sun-kissed Hair – Since I moved to the Pacific Northwest I have noticed that my blond hair is not as blond as I want it. I just can’t commit to the time and expense of coloring my hair and had started to give up my will for bright blond hair. Then I found my answer, John Frieda Sheer Blond Go Blonder shampoo, conditioner and lightening spray. The spray probably does the most, but I have used them all. They have brightened my natural color and made me feel like I have that sun kissed look without being in the sun.

Natural Skin – I wear moisturizer with sunscreen every day, but rarely use foundation. I find it heavy and cakey on my face. One thing I am thinking of trying this summer is a tinted moisturizer to even out my skin tone a bit, but still have light coverage. Then I apply sunscreen over it if we are going to be in the sun. I have very sensitive skin on my face, so I am picky about my sunscreen. I have found that Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection works well for the kids and me.

Simple Makeup - When it comes to makeup I will put on mascara most days, because I have light eyelashes and would look quite pale without. Add a little lipstick for afresh and natural look. I love Cover Girl Outlast All-day Lipcolor. It stays on all day and doesn’t come off on food, drink or significant others. You put the color on, let it dry (usually only 30 seconds) then put a moisturizing top gloss over it. It is so great and comes in almost any color you could want.

Hopefully these tips will help you simplify your summer beauty routine while staying on trend, so you can get out and enjoy the long warm days and nights.

Tuesday evening was the 1st grade musical. We are so lucky to have a great music program that plans annual concerts for each grade. Each of the classes were a different animal, Jack’s was the pigs, but they didn’t make the correct sound. It was a very cute story. The kids sang seven songs and many had small speaking parts, including Jack. He was so excited to say his line. I am still humming one of the catchy tunes.

Although Jack could drink a bottle when he was an infant it caused him so much pain that he refused to do so after several months of associating pain with eating. After fighting with him to eat (feedings would take over an hour at times) we decided it was in his best interest and ours to insert an NG feeding tube to provide a painless feeding process and an opportunity to reboot his pain memory. It was the best decision we ever made. He immediately changed into a happy baby and we got to relax and be somewhat “normal” parents.

NG-tube or Nasogastric Tube
An NG-tube is a small tube that is inserted in the nose and runs down the esophagus into the upper part of the stomach. It can be used for continuous feedings or bolus feedings where large amounts are given over a short period of time similar to giving a bottle. Once taught how to place the tubes, parents are able to replace them as needed. Typically NG-tubes are used for children that will be tube fed for short periods of time, like a few weeks or months. They can be removed easily and although not painful to replace, can be uncomfortable and very unpleasant for the parents placing it.

Seven months later we had a G-tube surgically implanted into his stomach, because we concluded with his doctor that he was not eating enough orally and the NG tube had outlived its life. Jack started with a PEG tube for three months and then had an endoscopy to change it to a MIC-KEY button. After that we changed his MIC-KEY button every three months at home.

G-Tube

A G-tube is inserted directly into the stomach through a hole made in the abdominal wall. The hole is made surgically. Like the NG-tube, feedings can either be bolus or continuous. There are two main types of G-tubes, PEG tubes and buttons.

PEG tube – The tube has a small mushroom shaped end that holds it in place and has about 5-6 inches of tubing on the outside that connects to the feeding machine. This tube can only be changed or removed surgically during an endoscopy. Usually this is the tube that children start with when a G-tube is placed. After the stomach and abdomen fistula have healed after surgery (approximately three months), the PEG can be replaced with a lower profile button.

Button – The two types of buttons are MIC-KEY and BARD. The MIC-KEY has a small balloon that is inflated with water after it is inserted into the fistula to hold it in place. The external part of the button is flat against the stomach. After being properly trained parents are able to change MIC-KEY buttons at home.
The BARD button has a small dome shaped plastic piece that holds it in place. It can be inserted without surgery, but can be more uncomfortable and should only be changed by a nurse or doctor.

Converting to the G-tube moved the NG-tube off of Jack’s face and to a more inconspicuous location, eliminating the risk of accidental removal by a stray hand. This also eliminated the stares while out and about in public. We learned to cope with the latter but it was always very hard dealing with educated adults who were staring at our beautiful son. Putting your child through surgery is never easy, but we felt it was the right choice for us and Jack is living proof that it was.

Once Jack learned to eat orally through a wonderful food re-introduction program at Children’s Hospital, and after six months passed without using it, we removed the G-tube. He had a small indentation on his stomach until last summer when he requested that we have it sewn up.

Below are descriptions of other types of feeding tubes that are also available. Jack had an NG-tube, a PEG for three months as his first G-tube, then a MIC-KEY button for the remainder of his time.

NJ-tube or Nasojejunal tube
Similar to the NG tube this one is inserted in the nose, going down the esophagus, but it continues through the stomach into the upper part of the small intestine called the jejunum. This tube is used for children who can’t handle having feedings in their stomachs. Since the jejunum can’t handle large amounts of food at one time these feedings need to be continuous.

GJ-tube or Gastrostomy-Jejunostomy tube
This tube is similar to the G-tube in that it enters the stomach through the abdomen wall, but it has a longer tube that is guided into the jejunum. This is used for children who need to have the port in their stomach, but can’t handle food in their stomach.

J-tube or Jejunostomy
This tube is placed directly into the jejunum through the abdominal wall. These are used for children who need to have food placed directly into their intestines and can handle having the tube directly in the intestine.

I sourced my information from the following sites
http://www.parent-2-parent.com/tubefeeding/type.htm
http://huntingtondisease.tripod.com/feedingtubes/id1.html
http://www.rileypediatricsurgery.com/Gastrostomy.htm