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!

Long time, no write

I know. It's been....well, forever, since I posted here. I promise an update very soon. A lot has happened, road-curving, roller coaster type stuff. Not with the girls but other life stuff.

Anyhoo, I wanted to post about our upcoming walk with the March of Dimes. Our team is walking for the 7th year! It's hard to believe that it's been that long, but I guess so, since Lindsey & Sydney are 7 years old. This cause is near and dear to us. The funds we raise go to help with many things: research, programs and keeping healthy babies and prematurity on everyone's mind, making people aware of the issues around not just prematurity, but how to have a healthy pregnancy and baby, in general.

Over the years, you've helped our team raise nearly $20,000! I'm so, so grateful for your support! Please give what you can! Every DOLLAR helps! Just click the link/badge below to make your donation and to view the girls photo montage from last year. Thank you SO much!

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!

Please help!

Our annual March for Babies is coming up in less than three weeks and so I am making a plea for help! Our family is committed to helping the March of Dimes. They provide much needed funds to many different organizations for research grants, pregnancy programs and education for medical personnel. Many programs are being cut due to lack of funds.

I know the economy stinks, but please, give a few bucks if you can! Every little bit makes a difference!

It's been so neat to see how the girls are starting to take a more active roll in the fundraising and telling their story. They are just really beginning to understand that their beginnings, their first few months of life were much, much different that most other babies. It's been interesting to see them process that information and share it with others.

We have had so much support over the past six years. Thank you SO MUCH! Please visit our walk page and donate what you can. March for Babies or Click the bar on the side. Tell others about us and ask for their support too! We can all make a difference!

We really do need your help!

Turn up your volume!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

By the way, I PROMISE a real update very, very soon!

Thank you from all of us!

Two weeks post-Strabismus surgery

Don't her eyes look terrific? Hardly any red! She's been doing great and the surgery was a success!

I'm sorry I've been so lame at posting. I haven't even posted anything about Christmas or New Year's or all our freezing cold weather up here! Soon. Very soon.

~Seth~

In memory of our baby boy, Seth Allan, who received his angel wings seven years ago. Not with us, but with us. We'll always love you.

A Mother to her Child

You dwelt beneath my longing heart,
cherished and soft and warm.
And though you won't go home with me
Where you are, there'll be no harm.
For such a very little while
was my poor heart your home,
and then you left me, precious one,
in Heaven's fields to roam.
No tears shall ever dim you eyes,
no heartache pain you sore,
no sin will stain your lovely soul,
spotless forevermore.
So, Sweet, I will not grieve too much;
not hopeless are my tears.
You there, I here, both loved by God,
both safe through flying years.
And He who carries tenderly
the wee lambs on His breast
Will one day give you back to me,
rapture undreamed, unguessed.

*Martha Snell Nicholson, c 1951

Success!

The previous pics are before, after and one day post-surgery. I certainly can tell a big difference in her left eye! It's even been more noticible today and it really warmed my heart when Lindsey said, "I just love how my eyes look straight, mom!"

As for the surgery itself yesterday, all ended up going as planned. We got there, the anesthesiologist listened to her lungs and said they sounded fine so we were a GO! When we got there, we all got stickers to wear, "Lindsey's Mom, Lindsey's Dad and Lindsey's Sister". Lindsey got her bracelet and her bear, Snowy, got a matching bracelet too!



Next, we had the prelim vitals, etc., waiting to head to OR. I got to go in with her and lucky me, got to dress all up 'like a snowman' or as Lindsey said, "You look just like Snowy, mom!"





Sydney was so concerned about her sister, constantly asking when she was going to be done, if she was okay, etc. When we got back to the recovery room, Syd ran right in and said, Lindsey! I'm so glad you're okay. I love you so much! She continued to gush over her the whole time and the nurse asked if they were always like this, and I told her, yes, pretty much!







I'm just so proud of how Lindsey handled it all. I was quite worried about it, but she really surprised us. She's been a trooper. The doctor resectioned approximately 6 mm of muscle in each of her eyes. They will continue to be red for weeks, gradually getting pinker and then back to white. We're doing antibiotic/anti-inflammatory drops in her eyes three times a day for a week. We have a follow-up appointment with her doctor on Tuesday. She's already cleared to go back to school on Monday. She's experienced really no pain at all. We've just been giving her Tylenol, regularly on the first day, but now, as needed. Actually, it's been really hard to keep her resting and not jumping around!

Of course, after we came home Thursday, we had to do something fun that night! Dad made sugar cookies, so the girls had fun frosting them! YUUUUUM! Happy Holidays!

Time for Surgery...

We knew the time would come and now it has. Lindsey will be going in for Strabismus surgery this Thursday. It has come up fairly quickly. We had originally planned to wait until the new year to do this, but then we found out that our health insurance is changing (not a bad thing, we decided to make a change). Now, though, we feel it's better to have Lindsey's surgery this year. So, I called last week to see about scheduling and they had this Thursday open and we took the slot. The scheduling worked well, as you know, the girls have school M-W-every other F, and this is a 'no school on Friday' week.

We need to be at the surgery center by 9:30 a.m., surgery at 10:15 a.m. Our pediatric opthamologist will be doing the surgery. She calls the night before and talks with us again in the morning before the surgery, as well as, the standard talks with the nurses and anesthesiologist. I will be able to go back to the OR with her until she falls asleep. The surgery itself will take about an hour. We expect to be back home mid-afternoon, armed with some pain meds. The whites of her eyes will be red and she could possibly have some swelling and discharge, BUT they "say" she should be good to go back to school on Monday. Amazing.

We have been using a combination of patching (3 hours a day) and eye drops (3 days a week) over the past year and half, switching back and forth, and using all sorts of bribery and manipulation to get Lindsey to keep doing those things. She really hates wearing the patch now and at first, welcomed the drops, so as she didn't have to do the patch, but now, they are both a PITA, for ALL of us!

This was all done, along with her glasses, to treat her Amblyopia and while we've had good success with bringing her vision more equal between her two eyes, her muscles still need some adjustments, thus the reason for the surgery.

I'm a little nervous about the surgery. Not so much, the surgery itself, but how Lindsey is going to react after it's over. She tends to be quite stubborn and get herself worked up into fits that frankly, sometimes it's really hard to snap her out of. She responds really well to information up front, so we've been talking a lot about the surgery, what's going to happen, how her eyes will be red, etc. She's been quite calm and inquisitive about the whole thing. Maybe she'll surprise me. I'm thinking that a lot of her calmness has to do with the knowledge that Sydney's been through this before with her heart procedure and now she feels it's her turn. I don't know though. It could also just be the fact that she knows she probably won't have to patch or use eye drops anymore.
So, if you could spare a prayer or some positive thoughts for us on Thursday, we'd appreciate them!

Happy Holidays! The girls sure loved decorating the tree! I just love their Christmas spirit!

We're here.

I just hate how time gets away from me. Now it's been over a month since I updated. Lots of updates to be had too. We are gearing up for eye surgery for Lindsey. More on that next time.

Just to tide you over a bit, we have our first lost tooth! It went quickly. I barely knew it was even loose and then it was out! Here is the proud girl, Sydney.







Apparently the bottom one next to it is pretty loose now too. She's excited for the tooth fairy to come again.

Oh, and a little funny story about the first lost tooth...I had set the tooth on the kitchen counter, and let me tell you, it is teeny TINY! Later in the afternoon (she lost it right away in the morning) I was cleaning up the kitchen and totally forgot about it. When her dad got home, we went to get it and it was gone! Sydney was pretty understanding and kept telling me, 'It's okay, mom.' I felt TERRIBLE! I told her that it was okay though, because we didn't get to keep it anyway, that the tooth fairy took the tooth and we would just write her a note. She accepted that.

I knew it had to be in the garbage, so I started digging. I couldn't find it. I mean, the thing is like half the size of a tic-tac! I took a break and thought to myself, please just let me find it, I KNOW it's here! Lo and behold, the next time I started digging, I FOUND IT! She was so HAPPY that she could show it to her dad when he got home! Of course, I received many Thank You's!

Lindsey's patiently waiting to get a loose tooth too!



Happy Fall Y'all! Oh, wait, it's almost winter now and we have snow on the ground!