Update for the last few days... part 1- Friday

Friday, January 4th, 2008:

I got up and was wanting to get out of the house. I've heard about some things called Babylegs in the past but now that we are attempting to potty train AC, thought we might give some homemade versions a shot. So AC and I took a walk over to the Dollar General store for a excursion out on the town. :) I was thinking all the way over there, ok just a little bit longer and I wont have to fear crossing these roads so much anymore! The weather was decent, in the mid 40's and so we bundled up, put him in the stroller and off we went! :) We had fun looking around the store, as AC picked out some fridge alphabet magnets and I picked up some chip clips we were needing. Also found some otc meds we were needing for the kids and then found a Happy Birthday Mr. Potato head that I thought would be cute for MD's upcoming birthday. Also found for her a Dora Backpack with 3 cardgames in it, and lastly a package of 5 jars of play doh. The kids love playing with it but seem to have a problem with getting the lids on completely and it dries up harder than a rock. Then I scored with a play work bench for AC, that was half off and off to find the socks I needed for the Babylegs.

We didnt find any women's knee high socks as I was hoping, but did find some thermal boot socks that would work. So we got all of these and while standing in line to pay, AC was looking out the glass door and across the street was McD's. Oh my did his eyes light up and he starts yelling at the top of his lungs, "MOMMY!!!! McDonald's!!!!!!" The people in line behind me and the clerk is cracking up laughing. So we paid and headed out the door. I figured what the heck, we'll go to McD's for a change and AC would enjoy it. So we get across the street and are headed in and AC got this surprised look on his face and said almost in a whisper, " Do we get to eat at Mc Donald's?!" I replied "Yes." and he was just estatic! LOL!

We got our food and a really nice employee insisted on carrying our tray, as I had him in the stroller and was trying to push it too. We get to our table and sit down and AC was just perfect. Sitting quietly, ate all his food, and VERY well behaved. When we first sat down the guy behind in a booth had his bible and newspaper and I very faintly caught the eyeroll of me sitting down with a toddler right by him. So it was a pleasure when we left that he smiled and nodded, almost in acknowledgement that he'd been wrong. he he.

While there, we bumped into one of the moms from our past soccer teams and she also took our family pictures this past October. We were talking about the pictures and I told her that if some of them weren't in by the time I leave on the 14th, that we may not be able to get it picked up until after I get home. I explained that I was going to NY for a guide dog and she looked at me like I was nuts. Then she said, come again, that I was getting a guide dog. I explained yes and that I had such limited visual fields and so forth. She was just in awe and shocked, as she had no idea about my vision loss and that she'd never noticed it, even though our kids have been on the same soccer team for at least 2 seasons now and in the same league for multiple seasons.

This whole convo re-iterated to me that people really don't know what I'm going through most of the time. My stepmom, Sue, and Hubby and I were just having a convo a few days prior about all this and that I tend to mask and compensate so well for my vision loss that even those around me forget most of the time that I have it. But I'm finding now that it's harder and harder to mask it, as I bump in to more and more things. So I'm looking forward to getting my dog and to be able to rely on it to catch all those little things I'm missing!

So we head on home and again, I have to cross that dreaded intersection to my neighborhood. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's where there is a major street t'ing into another major street. then just beyond that, maybe 15-20 yards, the street to my neighborhood t's into the the same major street from the other side. To complicate matters, there is only a side walk on the side of the major road, opposite of my neighborhood side and they had the road closed for a good while to re-do it. Well, because it turned cold, the asphalt plant closed and they got the road done to the point it was passable and opened it back up. But on the sidewalk side, they had dug trenches behind the curb and all the dirt got piled up at the corner where the sidewalk comes to the corner.

Let's see if I can put the video here that I did to send to GDF of this intersection. Just don't laugh when you see me trip over the break in the street, because in concentrating on the traffic all around me, I'd forgotten it was there.


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You may have to let the video play once, then play it again, as it seems to need time to que up. When it first starts up, you can see the road going back to my neighborhood to the right side of the screen.

This area presents quite a challenge for me, as I am needing to watch traffic from 3 different directions, but with my vision, makes it really hard. And even further, with the sidewalk now completely blocked, I now have to get around the corner in the roadway. I've considered calling the city and complaining about the sidewalk, as they won't be coming back to finish things until spring... Again, I can't wait to get my dog!

But anywho, we got home safely again and put AC down for his nap. :) Hubby picked up the pictures that were in and we spent the evening enjoying some tv together. :)