Zongker Family Blog

Just when you think you’ve got everything in place, it seems that there are a ton of items you missed…  At least that’s how it feels when we’ve been working on an ongoing project for a while.  It’s okay, though.  We’re making good progress.  We’ve picked out a lot of the materials for our next home; it’s just a matter of making sure that we can get everything that we want, without causing the price to skyrocket…  Jeremy & I have been able to come to good decisions, easily & smoothly, because we tend to like the same look of certain things & we agree on the things that we feel are necessary & the ones that can be left out, or that we can compromise on.  It’s just strange to us how the homebuilder we chose uses different vendors for almost every item that we have to pick out.  We can understand the appliance & lighting vendors being separate from the rest.  But, for most of the other materials, why not use someone who offers them all…?  But, seriously, it’s fun deciding on different elements.  We’re just amazed at how quickly time passes when we’re doing it!  But, we’re getting there.  Wish us luck on making “final” decisions!

Alyssa is just such a silly, happy little girl!  It’s hard to get on to her when she does something she shouldn’t, but she’s beginning to learn more & more what those things are, and for the most part, how to listen to her Mommy & Daddy, when we tell her, “no”.  She just keeps picking up different expressions & it’s fun to watch her personality develop.  Recently, Jeremy & I both were awakened to a habit that we share, viewing it through Aly’s eyes, anyway.  She has begun to grunt when she picks things up, even if they are not heavy at all!  We realized that she started this the other day, after one of us leaned over to get something that was just out of reach.  I don’t remember if it was Jeremy or I, but naturally, you tend to say, “Ugh”, or something of the sort, when doing that.  I know I typically make some kind of grunt-like noise when I lift something heavy, so I imagine she’s seen/heard me do this recently, as well.  In any case, it’s just so cute & funny to hear out of her little mouth, especially when all she’s picking up is a plastic toy that will fit in only one of her hands!

Katrina’s just learning more & impressing us with every passing day!  Of course, we knew she loved school, even prior to this year.  But, it seems with first grade, you get to learn some new skills & one of her favorites this week has been spelling!  She had a list of ten words that they brought home & we got to practice each evening.  She loves playing the game of putting together cards with each of the letters on them to spell a word, especially.  Even though she got them all correct during our “practice runs”, she missed one on the actual test they had on Friday.  But, 9/10 isn’t bad for someone who’s just learning!  She’s happy about it & excited to continue learning more.  They have 10 more words this week – 2 which are from last week & the rest are new.  We’re so proud of our eager little scholar!

Well, I’m just about as worn out as I can be, these days, although I don’t have a seriously good reason as to why. It’s partially due to the fact that we spent most of the week running around to different vendors who sell materials for home building (countertops, flooring, appliances, etc.). It seems like any “free” time I might’ve gotten was instead spent helping to decide what look/texture/etc. would be best for what room. I’m not complaining, because it has been fun, so far. I just wish I had the energy that my children have, at times… Another couple of things that have affected my mood recently are the weather, for one: it keeps raining here. In my locale, we don’t seem to get a little rain, here & there. We get a “rainy season” which is typically in-between summer & fall. I’ve known this for years, but it still seems to depress me, a little more each time. Not that we’ve just had downpours, or anything. We just keep having dark, cloudy days with no sunshine. Again, not trying to complain, because it has caused cooler temperatures to set in, which is a bit enjoyable, if it wasn’t for all the humidity, at least… What I *will* complain about, however is the second thing that is affecting my temperament dramatically & that’s my allergies. They are driving me crazy these days! The itchy eyes & runny nose that know no relief, especially! I can take a pill, but the help it provides doesn’t really last long enough to give me peace about them. All I can do is suffer through & try not to pass out asleep from my eyes being so dry & itchy that they are constantly wanting to shut… *sigh* Perhaps they will get better when fall finally settles in, for good. At least that’s what they’ve done in the past. Here’s looking forward to then…

We’re enjoying the planning of our next home.  We began this adventure at the beginning of this summer.  We are hoping to have the house all built & ready to move in to around the beginning of next summer.  We have the floor plan all done & signed off on.  Now, the next step is what our builder calls “the design phase”.  We met with their design center rep. earlier today & had a nice appointment.  We made a lot of decisions, but some are still up in the air.  The nice thing is that Jeremy & I pretty much know what we want.  The not-so-great thing is that most of it is not included “standard” & therefore, we are going to have to shop around at each of the vendors they use a bit more, in order to nail down our exact choices.  The two of us have been very agreeable, when it comes to the colors, textures & things that we both would love to have in the home, so that makes it a bit easier, at least.  We probably got about half of the decisions taken care of today.  Now, begins our fun “homework” of picking out the rest, shop by shop, before we meet with the design center rep. again in a couple of weeks.  Wish us luck! 

Although Alyssa’s not even 2 years old yet, Katrina’s eye doctor wanted to go ahead & check her eyes & make sure that she does not share the same condition Kat has, because it can be hereditary.  So, this past Wednesday, both girls had an appointment.  Aly did surprisingly well, for someone her age, anyway.  She sat still on her Mommy & Daddy’s laps, as the doctor looked in her eyeballs.  The only part she didn’t like was having eye drops put in, so that her pupils could be dilated.  She laid down on the table, but I had to hold her hands, hugged around her, so that she wouldn’t rub her eyes.  She fussed a bit, but once they were done, I was able to hold & comfort her.  She enjoyed the wait to see the doctor, since they have some good toys in the waiting room.  It turns out that she might be slightly nearsighted, but there are no signs of Amblyopia, so we are remaining hopeful that her vision will stay that way, or even improve, with time.  The doctor wants to see her again in a year.  It will be easier to explain to her what’s going on by then, at least… 

Katrina had a regular check-up with her eye doctor this past Wednesday.  She has grown accustomed to them over nearly the past 2 years.  For those that may not know, she was diagnosed with a condition called Amblyopia, when she was 4½ years old.  It is more commonly known as “lazy eye”.  We took her to the eye doctor on the notion from her teacher at the time, who noticed that Kat would color slightly to one side of the shapes on the papers she was given & that she tended to look at things further to one side than they actually were when they were pointed at.  Neither of her eyes ever actually “wandered”, so it was difficult to even notice, really.  But, the eye doctor, after screening her vision, one eye at a time realized that the left one was seeing things extremely differently.  At that first visit, her eyesight was 20/70.  So, we began using a patch over the “good eye” (her right one), in order to make the vision in her left one stronger.  She also got her first prescription for glasses at that time, as well.  We have been back every couple of months & Kat has grown significantly & her eyesight has improved a great deal, since then.  At this past appointment, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it is now at 20/25!  Her prescription lenses were changed once more, but she is still wearing the original, cute, purple frames she picked out almost a couple of years ago, now.  We feel blessed that she has shown so much improvement & continues to go on.  She has such a great personality & attitude toward the whole thing, too.  She has never had a negative comment about wearing glasses & she is very good about keeping them on, during her waking hours.  Here’s keeping the faith that she will continue to progress toward 20/20 & that her next appointment, in 6 months will be even better! 

Well, I’ve been back to clogging practice for a couple of months now & am really enjoying it, again! I’ve learned several new routines & have enjoyed dancing some of the “oldies but goodies” as well. So, just recently, our instructor asked if I would like a t-shirt, so that I can participate in exhibitions (shows) with the group. And, I just got it on Thursday night. It says “Turtle Creek Cloggers” & has a cute painting of a turtle in clogging shoes. It also has my name on the back, so I feel truly “official” now! I haven’t participated in an exhibition yet, due to some scheduling conflicts, but I plan to join them soon & I’m really looking forward to it! Yay for performing & sharing something that I love to do, once more!!!