Do you want eyes with that?

I am happy to announce that yesterday I had LASIK vision correction surgery, and it was a success! No more glasses for me!

I have been seeing my optometrist, as well as doctors at TLC Laser Eye Center in Reston, for a couple of months. It took a while to find a time when I could be at home and avoid doing anything dirty or strenuous so I could heal properly.

Yesterday, the big day arrived. I scheduled the surgery for the afternoon, so that the lasers would warm up all day and be as hot as possible. (Imagine my disappointment when I found out that they are actually cool lasers.) When I arrived, I was taken to a room where they put about 13 eye drops in each eye. I was offered Valium, which I accepted to make me as dopey as possible. I then met the skilled ophthalmologist, ninja master, and chairman of the Jedi Council Dr. Edward Perraut. He explained the game plan and said I might feel some pressure but no pain during the procedure.

Before my procedure, I got to watch the guy before me get his. They put a live video of the eye they're working on on a monitor. The ticking of the laser could be heard from outside, where we were waiting, and I was a little nervous, but the Valium was working well, so I said what the hey and went in next.

I was prepped, dressed, and placed in the supine position. (For everyone but Angie, that's medical-speak for putting on a hat and lying on my back.) Dr. Perraut wasted no time, taping my left eye shut and clamping my right eye open with something that does not look unlike eyelash curlers. They're eyelid curlers, really. He then put about 22 more drops in the right eye. Next was the "pressure" to which he referred. He pressed a little cylinder down onto my eye, hard. I could feel my head being pressed against the headrest. I guess it didn't technically hurt, but it was quite uncomfortable, and the world went black for me.

Next they swiveled me under one of the lasers and hooked the laser machine up to the cylinder. Dr. Perraut counted down the 20 seconds it took to slice a thin layer off the front of my eye. After that, some of the pressure subsided, which was a relief, and I was swiveled out from under the laser. The doctor folded back the thin corneal flap and quickly swiveled me under laser #2, the actual LASIK laser. I could see again, but everything was blurrier than before ("what if the power goes out right now?," I should have thought, but I had had Valium.) What I could see was a flashing orange blur. I think it took 30 to 45 seconds per eye under the LASIK laser, and it didn't bother me at all. In fact, laser #2 was quite comfy compared to pressing my eye into my brain that had been done before. There was a loud ticking sound and a burning smell ("chemicals," they told me...burning flesh says I). No pain at all. During the ticking, I could actually see the orange light get crisper and clearer, not perfectly, but better by the second!

After the ticking was done, they swiveled me out and took off the cylinder, to my great relief. Dr. Perraut smoothed the flap into place, and cold liquid dripped from my eye down the side of my head. Tracy told me that was from a wet Q-tip they used to smooth out the flap. This eye was then taped shut (with the tape that had been on my left eye, maybe? That would have been resourceful).

This procedure was repeated for my left eye. I won't bore you with the details.

After the left eye, my right eye was untaped, and I was told to sit up. I went to the corner of the room where there was an eye checking machine, like the kind at your eye doctor. Dr. Perraut examined both eyes and pronounced the procedure a rollicking success. I bowed to him and was ushered to a recovery room, where I spent the first 45 seconds of my recovery. Then I was told to go home and start doing all kinds of eye drops.

This morning when I woke up, it was like a miracle. Clear vision, without glasses or contacts! That's what Tiger Woods says on the radio (his surgeon is the other surgeon at TLC Reston but is not a ninja master), and it's true. My eyes feel great, and my kids have been gracious enough not to enjoy a snack of Gummi Corneas so far, so overall everything is good.

Since this is a kiddodiddo blog, I will mention that the kids' reaction has been slim to none. Jimmy's reaction was something like, "Wow! Can I play Toontown now?"

If you can save your pennies, I highly recommend LASIK, especially with Dr. Perraut.

Time to go do more eyedrops.

Caterpillars

Jimmy and Amelia have a sibling rivalry issue. Or maybe it's a maturity issue. Let's just say they don't get along well ALL the time. Lately, they have been making efforts to patch things up. Jimmy brought the first peace offering last week. He came home from school with a wriggling caterpillar that he caught just for her. She squealed with delight and named it Chip. I gave her a tupperware and told her to find some leaves for it. She carried it around and left it here and there. I found it on the kitchen counters a lot. So I encouraged her to keep it outside on the balcony. After 2 days of being Amelia's pet, Chip escaped. I have to admit I was very proud he was healthy enough to get away!
This week, she caught 2 caterpillars of her own,Chip (JR) and Dandelion. She and Jonny had great fun letting them crawl up and down their arms, etc. They gathered leaves and stuck them in a tupperware (no lid) on the balcony. I kind of forgot about them until Thursday, when I went on the balcony for the recycling box. I saw something white and fuzzy in the tupperware container. I thought "gee, it died and got moldy. how gross- and it's in my tupperware!" Then I remembered that they were CATERPILLARS and they make COCOONS! So now we are anxiously waiting for the cocoon (the new Chip escaped) to open and see the beautiful butterfly (or moth) that is inside.

Minor Squabble

Jimmy and Amy were having a fight over something or other. Jimmy shouted out "You just think you're the boss. You just want to tell everyone what to do!"
Amelia started to reply, but Jonny cut her off "I'M the boss! I tell you what to do!" Well, I guess that settles it!

Quizes

So I got sucked in to a couple of online personality quiz things. I saw them on friends blogs and thought I'd give them a go. .

Take the Quiz here!

I haven't read the book Sense and Sensibility, so I don't know if it's good or bad that I am Elinor Dashwood. I read her description- she sounds "white" to me.

Speaking of white, that's what color my personality is! I took this quiz in a much longer paper format with friends in high school, and again with roommates, and now, thanks to Tracie, I have taken it again- yep, I'm still white.
Here are some links- give them a try and let me know who or what you are! (really, I'm curious!)
http://www.thecolorcode.com/
http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quiz.php

After I did the quizes, I thought "I wonder what Gary is?" and then I thought "I mean the color quiz- I don't want to know what kind of heroine he is!" Maybe I could find a hero quiz for the men.


(for those of you who are curious, here's what it says about "white")
WHITES are motivated by PEACE. They seek independence and require kindness. They resist confrontation at all costs. To them, feeling good is more important than being good. They are typically quiet by nature, process things very deeply and objectively with great clarity. Of all the colors, WHITES are the best listeners. They respect people who are direct but recoil from perceived hostility or verbal battle. WHITES need their "alone time" and refuse to be controlled by others. WHITES want to do things their own way and in their own time. They ask little of others and resent others demanding much of them. WHITES are much stronger than people think, but are not often seen for their strength because they don't easily reveal their feelings. WHITES are even-tempered, diplomatic, and the voice of reason; but can also be indecisive, unexpressive, and silently stubborn. When others interact with you, as a WHITE you respond to them best if they are kind, accepting and supporting of your individuality, and if they look for non-verbal clues to understand your feelings.

Jimmy's New Hobby

Last night, Jimmy cut the head off of his stick pony. He then decorated the stick and passed out handmade tickets to his bow staff combat class. He took AMY (remember she's not Millie anymore) and Jonathan outside to help them find sticks and attend his class. (Ninja Turtles have been a recent favorite, and I think he's been studying the moves) He showed them his techniques and they played around for awhile before bed.
Today it was my turn. After school, he found me a stick in the woods (flimsy, not like his stick pony one) and showed me how to grab and spin it. So we had a tournament. As we swung and fought with our bow staffs, mine kept breaking off. Sticks and particles were flying everywhere. When my 3 foot "bow staff" had been reduced to 15 inches, I called it good.
Tonight, I'll be carving my own bow staff- I found myself a REAL stick.