Seriously?

Lauren got glasses this month. Nine days ago to be exact.

She had complained of having headaches in school. So, through a process of elimination, she had allergy testing, an eye exam, and soon an appointment with an ENT. She's highly allergic to something, but we're not sure what. The tests we did on her shows she's not allergic to the basics like dust, mold, certain grasses or dairy, egg, flour. But she's off the chart for something.

Then at her eye appointment, the optometrist said Lauren's eyes have a hard time focusing quickly from far to near to far--something you do often in a classroom when looking at the teacher and then looking down at your paper. The optometrist recommended a low prescription for glasses. So we got them last Thursday. Today she broke them.

Lauren was busy showing Megan how they bend in the middle. They are a hard plastic frame. They don't bend. Obviously. Alas, there is a one-year warranty so "if they break for any reason" they should be covered. Honestly, this is really not something that should be covered. But it is definitely "for any reason."

We picked up the glasses on a Thursday night just before driving up to Minneapolis to help my Gramma Pat (my dad's mom) move back to Minnesota after a long hiatus in Illinois. After my sister-in-law Jessica and I put the kitchen together as much as we could, we along with Gramma decided she needed one more cabinet in the kitchen for her microwave and other kitchen items that still needed to be stored. That of course meant a trip to Ikea! A good time was had by all.

Then, on our return trip, Emily and Megan stayed at Gramma Barb's house for the week. I'm not sure what all they did, but Emily said, "Can we stay there longer next time?" Hmm. So much for separation anxiety.

For me, it was nice to be able to work Monday-Thursday on projects I needed to get off my desk. Apparently I overcommit. And the house was definitely a lot quieter. We didn't miss the whining and fighting that seems to have reappeared in our home overnight. They'll grow out of it, right?

This month, we also celebrated the birth of another cousin, Olivia Rose.

We also celebrated the artistic abilities of Annika and Lauren at their annual school art show. These are all seen below.

Kid quotes:
Pupcakes--what Megan wanted more of at Dan's birthday (cupcakes)

"I slipped. Good thing I didn't plop. Plops hurt." Lauren

"Somebody made a clock that runs on lemonade and water--no electrocution!" Lauren

Lauren next to her doggy statue

Lauren's tissue paper art is above her head

Annika's jaguar is beside her. You can see her signature.

Annika's still life

Annika's pottery--it's a clown.

Looking at backyard furniture at Menard's

Kicking back at the Menard's showroom

We let our children dress themselves...

Our kitchen furniture being used as the foundation for a fort...

So this is how they improvised for lunch dining.

The littlest princess