Checking in...

A new year. I'm not going to promise that I'll be better at updating the blog, but let's just say that I have really good thoughts about doing just that.

The girls are doing well. Really well. Second grade is flying along. Both love their teachers. Lindsey has had a some issues with anxiety, but so far, it hasn't been manageable. Little things; like she has this terrible fear of missing the bus when she's at school to come home. No matter what I tell her it still seems to freak her out. I've been picking them up on occasion to help alleviate some of that anxiety. It's something I'm definitely keeping an eye on.

Lindsey's eyes are doing great! The surgery she had for strabismus was a total success. She had follow ups regularly throughout the year following surgery and at her last appointment they told us that she didn't have to come back until her annual check up in March! YAY!

Lindsey stopped taking gymnastics this year and decided to try ballet. It's been a great fit for her and she really enjoys it. The gymnastics has helped her a lot too.

This picture was taken on her 8th birthday! I can't believe they are eight already. It's just going by too fast.

Sydney is still enjoying gymnastics, although, we are taking a little break. We've had some time conflicts. In the interim, the girls just signed up for a short Cheer Camp and they are starting Math Club after school one day a week, starting today, as a matter of fact. I hope they like it!

They are also both in Girl Scouts again, first year Brownies, and I'm one of their leaders. It's been fun so far, but a little more work than I thought. Actually, it's not more work, but I just seem to have so many things on my plate!

The girls had a great birthday this year. It was their golden birthday and it was a complete weekend party! We went out for dinner on Friday night, their choice, and of course they chose the Country Kitchen!





Then, on Saturday they had a party with school friends. Each invited four friends, so we had 10 total and the party was held at their gymnastics club. They had a TON of fun in the gym for an hour with one of the coaches and then we retired to the party room for cupcakes and ice cream and gifts and LOTS of laughter! This was the first kid party that the girls had. I'm not sure how I got out of that until now, but whatever! Later that evening, one of their friends stayed and we took the girls out for Mexican and then they had a sleepover.









On Sunday, we had the family party with more cake and ice cream, and of course, more gifts. It was a MEMORABLE weekend! They sure have come a long way from when they were born and I was wondering if they would even live or how bad their issues might be. We really had no idea what was in store for us, but took each day as it came. We have been so blessed by these two little beings. Even through all the days of infertilty, all the days of a, well, frankly, an awful pregnancy and then all 114 days of a rollercoaster ride in the NICU, I could never have imagined the joy they bring me each day. Those days are etched in my memory, but also, they seem to be so far away.



So, that's a short little update. There's still lots more to talk about though. I'll save it for next time! Happy New Year!

And school begins...

I can't believe that the entire summer has gone by and I haven't posted ONE picture or ONE update. I'm so embarrassed!

We are already in September and you know what that means...first day of school, to be more specific, first day of second grade. Can I really have 2nd graders already? Their first week is almost finished and they are loving being back in school, seeing their friends and their new teachers. We had a little bussing issue the first day, but it seems to have worked itself out, although, I think I still need to make a call to the bus garage.

So, without further ado, here are our first day of school pics:

LINDSEY


SYDNEY


TOGETHER with BREWSTER!


LOVE MY SISSY!


Lindsey had a great activity today at school. She had brought home a small brown paper bag with instructions to put five things in the bag that told something about her, but the items HAD to fit in the bag. Apparently, when she talked about her stuff today, she got quite shy and started crying over one of the items. That item that she had put in the bag (which, by the way, I thought was a perfect thing to put in it) was a song she had written. When talking at school, everyone wanted her to sing it and that is when she became shy about it and didn't want to talk about it anymore! It really is such a great representation of her, as she is always writing songs, making up songs, singing them, making up tunes, etc. The other items she put in the bag were: a DS game, a bracelet she had made, a little stuffed dog that looked like our dog, Brewster, and a Tootsie Roll! I love that last item!

Hopefully, I can get back in the swing of things here and give you a proper update! Enjoy your day!

Back to school...

...as FIRST GRADERS!







We have had a few snafus in regards to bussing, which I sort of expected. In our town, they are replacing a bridge over a major 4 lane highway and of course, we live on the other side of the bridge. So, we received our bussing instructions with a pick up time for during "construction".

On the first day of school, we were up early and pretty much ready to go. We had a good breakfast (Country Breakfast Casserole) and allowed time for pictures. We were in the midst of them and the girls told me they heard the bus. I told them no. Just a bit later, they told me again that they heard the bus and I told them again, noooo, it can't be the bus. It was too early. Well, it was the bus and it proceeded to go whizzing by. The girls were REALLY upset and wanted to ride the bus. So, I went back inside (after they ran out after it) and called the bus garage. I told them the bus came 20 minutes early and did they want me to bring them to school or what? (And this was 20 minutes before our "construction time" which was 20 minutes before our normal time). She proceeded to radio the driver and told him to go back and pick them up! YAY! Happy smiles all around.





I told some friends about this who live in larger suburban school districts and they told me they could tell I lived in a small town. That would never happen there. It would be more like: Who are you? You want us to do what? Hahahahahaha...

So, it took a few days, but I think we're all on track with the bus pick ups and drop offs now.

We just finished week two and the girls tell me that first grade is even "more funner" than Kindergarten! They love school and love their teachers! I can't believe what a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, we were deep in the adjustment process of kindergarten, a new school, being separated, etc. and pretty much every day somebody or both somebodies cried. It took weeks to really get the swing of things. At first I thought a lot had to do with the separation of twins, but then I realized it wasn't just that, it was just adjusting to Kindergarten in general as well.

THIS year has been like night and day. For the first few days, I'd have conversations with them after school (well, I do that every day) but, I was trying to see how things were going, were there any tears, etc. Nope, no tears. I was asking specifically about lunch and recess, because last year when they'd see each other at lunch, they'd both burst into tears and say, "I'm just happy to see my sister!" They would tell you that RECESS was their favorite part of school because they could see and play with each other. Now, talking with them those first couple days, I was confused. It didn't seem like they knew what they did during recess. So I asked them, "Don't you play with each other at recess?" Uh...no...was the answer. WOW! WOW! WOW! Since then, they have played with each other, but if they don't, it's not the end of the world anymore.

I'm just SO excited about this. As much as I love their sibling and twin bond (and it is STRONG), I really encourage them to do their own thing. I want them to have their own friends and if they want to do different activities, I'm all for it. That's not happened yet, but they do have different likes and interests so I would hope that by gaining some independence from each other, they will spread their wings even further and do some more things on their own.

I'm certain that day will come...but we're not there yet.

CLICK THE PHOTO TO VIEW LARGER


Next update: Scenes from Summer!

It's good to be back!

A new family member...

I'm hoping to have a bit more time to catch up as soon as the school year is done. Ha! I'm living in a fantasy world.

I realized that I've never posted about Lindsey's first lost tooth, about our Florida vacation, about so many things.

One thing in particular, we are now a dog family! Please welcome our new adopted family member, Brewster!

The day we got him (back around April 1):



Settling in...



FINALLY! A fresh grooming! I didn't realize he was so scraggly! Isn't he handsome?





He's been doing so good! He's about 2.5 years old and was an owner surrender. Apparently he was a replacement for a previous mini-schnauzer that died, and shortly after they got him, they decided they didn't like him and he wasn't the same as their old pet. DUH! He's very well-behaved (well, except for the barking, but we knew this about the breed). He's housetrained and crate trained. Absolutely NO complaints there! He's sweet and just wants to be by you. We do need to get some training though and try to work on the barking a bit. Luckily, we have a lot of barky dogs in the neighborhood, so he fits right in!

I recently saw something that Sydney had written in school. It said, "If I had $100.00, I would_____________. She filled it in with "I would buy a dog." When I asked her about it the other day, she said her WISH came TRUE! I'm glad we succumbed to the kid pressure of getting a pet! LOL! Oh, and the non-shedding bit is awesome! I'll take the grooming with the non-shedding any day!

Three days of school left before summer vacation! I'm off to my last day of volunteering this year. Back in a flash!

School update and new looks!

Well, three weeks have passed since my last update. School is going well. The first few days that they were separated were a little rough. Lindsey & Sydney would see each other at lunch and burst into tears. As Sydney tells it, "Mom, I was just so happy that I saw my sister!" Their favorite part about school is lunch, recess and gym, all times when they are together. By the end of the second full week, they seemed to get into a stride, being excited about what they're doing in class, meeting new friends and they both love their teachers. I'm volunteering on Friday's for each of their classes, helping during center time.

Tomorrow is picture day. Auntie Kristy gave them haircuts last week. Sydney had been talking for a long time about getting her hair cut short. I'm not surprised she went through with it, because she really doesn't like wearing a lot of things in her hair. While Lindsey, on the other hand, decided to keep her hair long! She loves to wear a ponytail everyday. Ah, well, I was hoping for two short haircuts, but one is fine. Still less work for mom! I LOVE that they are choosing to be different! It's really fun to see. Lindsey was a little disappointed that "her sister didn't want to look like her", but Sydney just said that she "wanted to look like me!" Can't argue with that!

Lindsey's Befores and After






Sydney's Befores and After





And my beautiful girlies together!

I have Kindergarteners. I cried.

Yes. Yes, I did.

Honestly, I really didn't think I would. People have been asking me for weeks how I'm feeling, if I'm sad, and I really haven't been. I've just been so darn excited for them! I absolutely LOVED school as a child and I'm hopeful that my girls will love school too! I think my enthusiasm came through too, because there were no tears from them this morning, just pure excitement, over their new clothes, shoes, new backpacks, riding the bus, new friends, you name it!

They woke up to mom sticking a camera in their face. Nice, mom! But you can tell, they were already anticipating the day at that point!




They had a quick breakfast, got ready, and then mom had to take a boat load of pictures!








Then we walked over to the bus stop (next door neighbors) and we waited.




And waited some more...good to have moral support!




But THEN...here it comes, mom!




...and then it's GONE!




And this is when I cried. I realized as the bus pulled away that I didn't even get any pictures of them getting ON the bus! But let me me tell you...I think the main reason that I started crying is when the bus driver said to me, "I've got them now, mom!" I'm SO HAPPY she is their bus driver. I've known her for a long, long time, since like sixth grade. She is a friend of my mom's and I used to babysit her kids. She's been driving bus forever and I'm just tickled that she's the girl's bus driver too! I love living in a small town.

As for the rest of my day, I basically wandered around the house and did nothing, glancing at their schedule every now and then to see what they were doing, just anticipating their happiness when they got home.

So, the bus did leave, but it also came back!




And it brought two smiley, happy girls...




...who had a wonderful day, but were glad to be home too!




It's been a very nostalgic and emotional day for me. I can't believe that it's already been just about six years since those tiny one pound babies were born...and look at them now!

I know I don't have to say it, but I'm going to anyway.

Enjoy every moment. They grow so fast and in a blink of an eye, they are walking and talking, and then getting on that school bus, spreading their wings and taking another step towards independence.

Enjoy. Savor. Remember.

Life is the journey...