house smells. love you.

This is a gross but accurate picture of how I believe all skunks should be-dead on the side of the road. Sounds harsh, but unless your milk carton smells like skunk then you have no room to judge.

Picture it: Sicily...(ha, just kidding! shout out to Sophia Patrillo!) No really, it's 5:30 in the morning the day we are leaving for Bham for The surgery and Gabbi gets sprayed by a skunk. In the face. My perfect, well behaved daughter. Now, unless you have had a skunk encounter personally then you were naive like me and thought that the smell just stayed on the dog and anything the skunk oil touched. Oh, it is a much better world to be a part of, a nice little paradise where skunk is not permanently in your nose, taste buds, hair, pantry, etc. Enjoy your stay there and I hope you never have to leave. Anyway, in the franticness of the morning where I had to be downtown to have blood taken for our new insurance by 7, we both had to finish packing & go to work and, just for fun, we threw a toddler in the mix...we had to put Gabs in her crate because we don't have a fence. Brandon (my perfect husband) had the worst part of giving her a 30 minute bath with an entire bottle of dog shampoo & a recipe of stuff I found online consisting of dishwashing detergent, hydrogen peroxide & baking soda. Again, naivete entered the picture as I thought that would fix it. Ha, ha. I came home later to get the girls to bring them to the kennel and BAM. Literally knocked down by the smell that implied an entire skunk family, including distant step cousins by marriage, had set up residence in my house. But, no. Just my one Gabs. I took them to the kennel where I said nonchalantly as I brought Chloe in first, "My German Shepherd might have a little skunk smell on her...I think it was in the air or something." Then I dropped Gabs off & literally ran out the door before the smell could sink in and they rejected her.
Now, keep in mind that Anderson & I literally never touched Gabs, but the second we walked into Mom's, she said, "What is that burning smell?" That would be your daughter & grandson. My jacket smelled so awful, just from hanging on the chair in the kitchen, that I had to borrow a very fashionable gingerbread man sweater from Mom. It was actually very warm & kind of smelled like her so it was comforting, too. When I got to school, people could literally smell me. Brandon sent me texts that said, "House smells.Love you." and "Everyone says I stink." Oh, fun times. Because all of her stuff smelled so bad when we got to Bham, we literally had to leave everything on the deck of Nicole's house. Seriously, we wore their clothes because ours had to be triple washed.

Elizabeth really put this into perspective for me when I overheard her chuckling as she walked past me the other day. When prompted, she said, "This would only happen to you." And, I think she is right. I guess I have to look at in a positive light that Anderson will definitely not have a boring childhood! The nose sucker stunk so much I had to soak it in a cup of vinegar. This was after it went through the dishwasher cycle 3 times. I can't just buy another one because it is the hospital one & the drugstore ones just aren't as good.

Scout had a baking soda bath.

The bug helping me sort through the "tolerable" clothes & the "they need a 4th washing" clothes.

Despite the fact that I had a very nice treatment for the suitcase consisting of hourly alternating Lysol spray, febreze & baking soda, the suitcase still reeked after 4 days so we left it on Nicole's deck. I found myself jealous of the people who get to live out of a suitcase as we were living out of a garbage bag.

Things that do NOT cure skunk smell: a bowl of vinegar in every room in the house, tomato sauce baths, 4 bottles of febreze, the fact that my son is having surgery and I really don't have time for this. Things that DO cure skunk: GG & Jpa!! Thank goodness that they took over skunk duty when we left or we would still be living out of a garbage bag. Toni went to our house & suffered through the skunk to pour more vinegar, spray more febreze & try to air out the house. Those methods did not cut it, so they had ServePro come & use some fancy oxygen machine. This meant that we couldn't stay in our house so we had a slumber party at their house, complete with dinner & Anderson watching the next day. It was a pretty nice set up, actually. The bug, because he is the most resilient thing ever, slept in 5 different places for 5 nights in a row due to 2 trips to Bham & the skunk. Seriously, my kid is going to have such life perspective by the time he is 2.

I recommend keeping a bottle around, just in case. It doesn't fix the smell because Gabbi still has a little aroma to her, but it does help. I have already had the joy of discovering that when it rains, the smell rises to the top or something because it is extra strong. Oh, joy.

A way out.

I am not a super religious person. Well, let me rephrase that. I am not a super "in your face" religious person. I don't normally go around quoting the Bible, but there is one verse (passage? scripture?) that I really like...

"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful & will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it."

The last few months have not necessarily been the easiest with the 15 doctor visits we have made due to normal things like sinus infections, check ups and a really bad diaper rash...medium things like a staph infection and, of course, pretty intense things like The Eye. I realize that it could be worse. Anyway, the point is, here are our " ways out":

1. Aunt Paula:

What are the odds of your Great Aunt literally changing your life? In Anderson's case, they are pretty high! With her eye background, Aunt Paula introduced us to infantsee (http://www.infantsee.org/) and we were lucky enough to catch the cataract while we can still fix it. I can't even imagine how awful this would have been to discover when he was 5 and it was too late to save his vision. Fate. We love you, Aunt Paula!

2. Pirates:

This pirate obsession started before I even knew Anderson was a he! Seriously, who does that happen to? I, myself, thought it was a little weird at times as we kept planning pirate events & getting pirate themed gifts. Then, bam! Eye patch. If that is not divine providence preparing me for something difficult then I don't know what is.

3. Bham:"Hi, this is Dr. Cogen's office. I heard you are a relative of Scott Hill & need to make an appointment-can you come next week?" What a crazy coincidence that we got in with a very experienced, renowned pediatric ophthalmologist who happens to be in Birmingham where we have lots of family!! And, this doctor is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. He is patient, a genius and kind. I know we will be making a lot of trips to AL in the next few years (we went twice within the last week already) but this guy is totally worth it. Also, the fam is there and they are pretty kind too, so that works out.
4. Snuggletime

Because we can't let him rub his eye, we have to get him if he cries at night. This has resulted in a lot of snuggling with my monkey & his monkey. The other night he woke up, shocked to find me holding him. He put his little hands on my cheeks & kind of stared at me for a minute. Then, a big grin. I, selfishly, am enjoying this but also concerned about "crying it out" take 2 that will begin soon.
The eye shield was on Truman when he woke up one morning!

5. The best kid in the world

Every time someone asks what is wrong with him I am a little shocked. Do they not see the perfect kid behind the eye patch/shield/bandage? I guess not because clearly they are ignorant/rude to even ask. But, please check out my baby who I think missed the memo that he was supposed to be recovering from surgery...
"Oh, that giant thing on my eye? Who has time to notice that when I have things to do!" Now, don't get me wrong-he is a 13 month old and he does have all of the stubbornness, independence and "I will throw this lotion all over the doctor's office" characteristics that you would expect, but he is also hilariously lively. Dr. Cogen even made a reference to the fact that, "He is obviously not shy"
Loves a "ba".

The same day as the surgery. Look at him in his little gown. There is nothing a wagon ride and Dad can't fix.

6. Uncle Hughes

Again, with the weird fate thing. Uncle Hughes just happens to be an anesthesiologist... working in Birmingham...who set up for us to have the best anesthetist... introduced us to everyone who might possibly be in the room. Seriously, these are the comments we heard, "We've got some VIPs in here!" , "You must be the nephew!" (from the main doctor!) We were so important. And, he spent 3 hours patiently answering every question that I could have ever imagined the night before the surgery. He is a handy thing to keep around, that Uncle Hughes. Now, that didn't stop me from walking in slow motion to the "red line" where I had to hand him over. As I made eye contact with the nurse, I desperately tried to convey the message, "Please be careful. You are holding my entire life in your hands." I guess my communication worked because there he was, safe in my arms, just hours later.

7. People If being on a prayer list could help vision, then Anderson would have 20/15. Neighbors, coworkers, friends, distant friends, my mom's coworkers, the people who sit next to Brandon's parents at the Lady Vol's games, a guy Pops made balloons for at IHOP...all praying for my boy. We had dinner delivered to us (thanks, Clare!), a generous "thinking of you" from the SWAT team, toys showing up on my desk at work & in our mailbox, flowers delivered from my department...it was very overwhelming. We didn't get phone service in the hospital so when I walked out and had 27 texts I was very touched.

I totally bonded with this other mom who's son was having a tear duct issue repaired. It started when Anderson stole her son's wagon, then we ended up being across the hall from each other & bonded over being totally emotional when they took our babies. Her son had a different surgeon who was unable to fix his duct, so they had to wait for the best surgeon to finish up next door. Yes, that would be our doctor they were waiting on. I don't even know her name, but it was kind of encouraging to realize we really are all in this parenting thing together. She is in the doorway in the picture and I, shockingly, am talking with my hands.

8. Family We win the best family award. Sorry to everyone else who entered. Aunt Cole & Uncle Hughes let us stay with them while their house is for sale, fed us, entertained the boy and called lots of pharmacies to try & find his eye drops. Noni & Bop drove to Birmingham with us (twice in a week), listened to me complain & were their normal encouraging selves. Meanwhile, GG & Jpa were handling the skunk situation (more in a later post),which I definitely think was the stinkiest job! Aunt Manda let us stay with them on visit 2 & provided her calmness, which is weirdly addictive.

I can't have a post without a pic of Lily! She is really the best thing about the Birmingham visits!

The eye: a timeline

So, this eye business has pretty much monopolized the blog (my life) lately, so I wanted to give a re-cap of how it has evolved because people are always asking me, "What is wrong exactly?"


First, here is basically what is wrong: He was born with a unilateral congenital pediatric cataract. This means that he was born with it & it's only in 1 eye. There is no reason it occurred, just random. This happens to about 1 in 10,000 babies, so just more proof that he is unique. Just like in adults, it's a blurry spot on his eye that prevents him from seeing perfectly. However, NOT at all like adults, his eye is not developed. What this means is that there is no easy cure. When an adult gets a cataract, it just has to be removed. Vision in kids develops during the first 6 years and that is something only his brain can do. As of now, his brain has been preferring the right eye because it is clear. This is why we have to patch the "good" right eye. We are trying to train his brain to use the left eye, too. This means that surgery is not the answer. It is the next step on the path toward the answer but we are going to have a lot of doctor appts, glasses and,of course, patches, in our future. Based on the what we learned at our last appt., he is thinking patching until at least 6 or 7.

a timeline...

January 7, 2010:The most perfect baby ever was born with the most amazing blue eyes. My first feelings on seeing them were shock (I thought brown were dominant!) and comfort (they looked like Brandon's)

January 8, 2010 The first stranger complimented Anderson's blue eyes. This has continued to the present day.


Sometime in September 2011 After much encouraging by Aunt Paula, who works at the Southern College of Optometry, I took him to an optometrist because it was free.The program is called infantsee. (http://www.infantsee.com/) Spread the word!! It's never to early to get your eyes checked out! Yes, I have become an eye advocate. The optometrist said, "Oh, he does have a little cataract. You might want to follow up on that." I oddly enough remember that one sentence very vividly even though I had no idea the real meaning at the time.


December 7, 2011 I took him to his first visit with the pediatric ophthalmologist in Knoxville with mom. Brandon didn't even take off of work because we didn't think it was a big deal. I was fully expecting a, "See you in a year or two." After forever in the office (dilating takes awhile), she sent us home with instructions to patch his good eye 2 hours a day. That was so shocking to us and I remember thinking that was impossible. Now, 2 hours would be nothing! That's basically before breakfast! Oh, perspective.


January 11, 2011
Another visit to the Knox ped. op. was a little more shocking as we were told surgery is "very likely" and to increase patching to 4 hours. His appt was the day before but we had too much snow so it was moved. I remember being so anxious for the appt and wanting it to be over just so we would know.



January 18, 2011
2nd opinion time. We were so lucky to be hooked up with Dr. Cogen in Bham literally a week after the last appt. When we pulled into the 6 leveled parking lot for the EYE hospital, I new it was pretty legit. While we distracted Anderson with snacks & things from my purse, I read every thank you card in the waiting room (most were about something trivial like a clogged tear duct) desperate for some sign, anything at all, that would make me realize this was going to be ok. And, it was. The doc patiently explained everything using great analogies, was much more hopeful and the nurse even handed me a kleenex when I started tearing up at one point! I called the next day to schedule surgery.


January 22, 2011
After 7 doctor appointments in 11 days due to eye visits, staph infection & a 12 month check up, Anderson & I shared our first milkshake. (peppermint chocolate chip from ChickfilA) I have a feeling it will not be our last. On a funny note, we were walking around Babies R Us as we drank it & he was wearing the patch. If only I had carried my camera.... Pregnant Public was in absolute shock at the awful mother who clearly had blinded her kid with the non-organic, full of sugar milkshake. I kept saying things like, "Now, this is it. You know you only get one milkshake before lunch!"

January 29

Worst day of patching so far. I cried 3 times, we went through 11 patches & I am pretty sure Brandon was looking forward to going to work that night.

Most days in February

We were able to keep the patch on for 5 hours. It took a lot of patches, toys, distractions and Noni working her magic.

February 17, 2011
Today. The day before the surgery. Let me just say, that I fully realize my son is not having heart surgery or some kind of last-chance for survival thing. But, all that I know, all that my heart knows, is that tomorrow they are going to take him from me. Even if it is for only a few hours, I won't be there. What if he cries? I am sure he will. He is not going to understand why we are just letting him go with them. This is the most real that awful has ever been to me so I really can't console myself with, "It could be worse." It's the worst for me. I am not trying to be super negative, I am just scared and trying to be honest.


Ok, I kind of feel better just typing that. I know the next post will be:successful surgery! no need for a patch anymore! Ok, maybe not that last part, but I know the first part will be true! Now, off to hang out with my favorite little pirate.

Love & Enchiladas

Getting ready for the big Love day by hanging out with who we love most! I am really going to take advantage of the shirts with Mommy on them because I have a feeling one day they won't make them in his size. Or, if they do I really can't buy my 32 year old one. (or, can I?)

GG has a love shirt, too!! I think hers is actually a teeny bit better, but what can I say? The boy loves his grandmas.
Speaking of love, we all love some blueberries because they are the only thing he will always eat! I think he would eat an entire carton if we let him. He is very particular about them and if they are even a little smushed he won't eat it.

Just some things we are other loving this Valentine's Day...Playing hide & seek with any blanket, towel, shirt he can find! His favorites are Noni's pink shirt, Gabbi's hair covered blanket & the blue blanket from Lily's MeeMaw.

...loving the grill toys, especially the grill brush. He tries to use it on Chloe & Gabbi all of the time. They are troopers.

...still loving the CVS clearance toy. We like to keep the spirit alive all year long. Ours is a festive household. And a cheap one, considering it cost $2.

...LOVING Truman Monkey (he had to join the snack) & loving hide & seek with Daddy-that's who he is looking for around me. Seriously, I think I am just a figure in his way of life with Daddy.

...loving a ball of any kind-he can say ball! Gabs is so good and shares with him even though I think it is a fight against all of her instincts.

He tries so hard to throw the ball to her. Oh, look! I joined the fun, too. Or, at least my shadow did.

Their shoes match! I got Anderson's at the consignment store clearance for $3! (I LOVE a consignment store/sale!)

Mexican Night! Once or twice a year, the Glover family hosts a Mexican night with enchiladas, beans/rice & yummy margaritas! Anderson really enjoyed the frozen ones best. He has really bonded with Austin & loves to hang out with him. He wouldn't even come to me when Austin was holding him!

Great Aunt LoLo surprised us all when she showed up with presents for Anderson! (sarcasm...) In addition to a bunch of shirts, she got him this fun microphone toy. I recommend it because it plays music & you can record your voice. It is the perfect size to hand him in the car or during an attempt at a diaper change. I say "attempt" because, oh, they are exhausting.

Hanging out with JPa!! This is one of the best pics because we actually got Anderson to look and smile at the camera!

Anderson is getting a little tickle here-how cute is his face? I guess if his face is cute, then Brandon's & Toni's must be cute because they all look so much alike!

Getting a little swing time from GG. Also, check out the squeaky shoes on his feet! They are awesome! He loves to walk around making as much noise as possible.


Here's a little video time with GG. They play this game where he runs at her from the door and it is precious.

the parrot.

and so it begins....

Store employee: Hey, hey, Sir!! What happened to your son's eye?

Brandon: It was plucked out by a parrot.

Employee:Oh, poor little guy! Poor guy. Was it at your house or somewhere else?

Brandon: It was ours. We had to put it down.

Employee: I am so sorry. Poor guy. That is awful. How old is he?

Brandon: He is 1.

Employee: Oh, poor little guy.

to err is human, to arr is pirate!!

ok, so one day I am going to let go of the pirate thing. probably not.

A true Farragut fan, he sported his overalls at the Bearden game! None of the students were allowed to play on the court during halftime but a special expception was made for Anderson. I was not surprised. That is what happens when you are so cute people can't stand it.

Another fun Farragut outing brought Anderson to cheer practice with me! He ate some goldfish while we practiced.

Just because we like to bring Noni and Bop with us everywhere we go, they came to the Chili Supper with us before the basketball game. I am so lucky they live here and willingly let me drag them around with us.

Mom's neighborhood set this up for an open house, so we crashed it! He thought he was a grown up. Or at least a 3 year old.

2nd haircut! The boy has some hair, for sure. And a cute little jacket from Aunt Paula!

Aunt Cole/Godmother taking one for the team. She is desperate to help me with the eye thing and thought maybe regular bandaids would work and be cheaper. Then it pulled off part of her eyelid, so maybe not. But, this is why we love her.

Sleeping has been odd lately. He loves to go to bed-almost jumps out of my arms to get to Truman Monkey so he can bury his face in it. Then, he has to be wrapped up in blue blanket. (If only they made swaddles in his size. or mine. sigh) We turn on Scout for 5 mins and he is set. The last few weeks though he has randomly been waking up at 3 am and just crying for hours. We give him ibuprofen, try to ignore him but none of it really works. I really think he wants to be wrapped up in his blanket and can't do it himself! I am so grateful for the days when he sleeps until 5:30 now!

Hilarious. This has been upstairs waiting for us to put it in the attic and I thought it would be funny to put him in it. It was until he actually started falling asleep! Where was the snoozing a year ago??

Playing in the tent with the BF Chloe.

A little video of him playing hide and seek with his other BF, Bop.

a busy little pirate

Just a few shots from the week. Actually, there are some from the last trip to Bham too. I have a feeling that quite a few of my posts are going to have Bham pics once we begin the follow up visits for the eye. Please notice the cuteness of the above pic. Clare, in an effort to cheer me up, (seeing me every day means the gets a big chunk of my venting) bought Anderson 2 adorable books and 4 boxes of eye patches! He wore his glow in the dark pirate shirt for the occasion. Side note: the pirate shirt was bought when he was 3months old-way before the eye thing was discovered!

I have continued to perfect my craft of buying things on clearance. Thanks to Target, Children's Place, Old Navy, Kohls...I have 2 tubs full of 24 months/2T stuff. I am not kidding when I say I think I spent a grand total of $30 on all of it. The key is to hide the good stuff when it is only 50% off & then go back when it is 75% or 90% off. Old Navy had an additional 40% off clearance, too. You know you are cheap when the clearance prices are too much. Also, http://www.southernsavers.com/ posts good sales for kid stuff so I hit up Children's Place on a day with free shipping & an extra 25% off clearance(plus ebates!). The above stuff was from Adorable Child. It's a consignment store in Farragut & they have a dollar clearance day. Yes, I got each of the above items for $1. Including the BRAND NEW pair of Gymboree shoes!

At a stop on my ongoing quest to make my child grow up at Farragut, he attended the boys dance team practice with me. At the senior/faculty game, a group of male seniors perform a goofy dance & the cheerleaders are in charge of it. He had jammies, squeaky UT shoes, a snack & music. What else is there?

Cute little shirt I made for Curtis' bday party! We had seafood, so it was fitting! Because I am not the best photographer, I didn't actually get a pic of A with the birthday uncle.

A night out with the ladies. The Future Teachers of America club invited me (Anderson, really. Let's be honest) to dinner at Gatti's to discuss teaching. He was actually pretty good, which I am sure had nothing to do with the fact that I was handing him whole cheese bread pieces. Shout out to Maribeth, again!!

Just a little hide and seek at Target.

Aunt Manda=calm

He loves to try to put his shoes on! It is precious.

I look scary, but I digress. In an effort to keep the patch on (the story of our lives), I took him to the FHS bball game. He did keep it on over 3 hours, so that was a positive. Then there is the issue of a 1 year old being up 3 hours past his bedtime. That is the cause of his expression. It was worth it though because at halftime he was walking around the court & when he got in the middle he started dancing to the song that was playing! It was hilarious. When he stopped the student section started clapping & yelling. Then I hear the announcer ( a fellow teacher) say, "And that, ladies & gentlemen, was Anderson Glover!" I have no idea where he gets this need for attention.

The Best Day with Godmother

I am not sure the DMV would have given him a license if they had known about the patch...