The Nose Knows

This is the best morning I've had in such a long time!!! I've been pointing to all of our noses for the past week saying "Reese's nose", "Tate's nose", "Mommy's nose", etc. This morning, the twins were sitting in bed with me (I was actually laying down on my side), Tate was sitting next to me with his back towards me and Reese was sitting next to Tate and she was facing us both.

I said to Reese.."where's Reese's nose?" and Tate reached out his hand and touched her nose. I was a little shocked. I decided to turn him around to face me and then said "where's Mommy's nose?" and he reached out and touched my nose! I then yelled for Twice Blessed Daddy to come and I told him what had just happened. He leaned over and said, "where's Daddy's nose?" and Tate reached up and touched his nose too!!!!

This is HUGE news people!! I'm so happy and proud of my sweet little boy and just had to share.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 17

This is my high school graduation photo taken the summer of 1982. I don't know why they took our graduation photo's the summer before we started our senior year but that's how they did it.

So, who all loves my very feathered hair?? I was supposed to wear a pair of pearl earrings and necklace but for some reason (don't remember why), I didn't. I know I was very upset about it. You can hardly even see my gold necklace. It's so thin and you can't even see my gold ball earrings..so sad. Cracks me up now. Anyway, here I am at age 17...cute huh??

The huge photo that my parents ordered (on oil canvas of course) is of me sitting in the ever so famous 80's era rattan chair. Classic....

For more flashback fun, head on over to "we are THAT family" and enjoy!

Ear Infection, Amoxicillin and a Rash

Well, I took Reese to the doctor on Monday and found out my baby girl has an ear infection in her left ear. That explains all the fevers since last Friday night. Her doctor prescribed amoxicillin for her. Off to CVS to drop off her script, then go to Lab Corp to get her blood drawn (this is required for her surgery on 7/8).

We get to Lab Corp and so happy that we are the only ones there so Reese is seen straight away. I had to hold her in my lap, hold her left wrist with my left hand and her upper arm with my right hand. The phlebotomist was great and got her vein the first time. Reese screamed bloody murder and sobbed afterwards..at least she got a Garfield band aid.

On Tuesday, Reese was still having fevers periodically. Her Aunt Jessica came for a visit and we took the babies to the pool. We all had a great time. Afterwards, we fed the babies, ordered this great salad from Uno's (Honey Crisp Chicken Salad), gave the babies a bath and Jess went to pick up our salads. They were great as always! Jess fed Reese her bottle as I fed Tate his bottle. Reese drank her milk so fast. Jessica asked "should I burp her?" , I said "no, she burps on her own now" , Jessica says "oh good - I was afraid she might spit up on me since she drank it so fast" to which I replied "oh, she NEVER throws up anymore". Not 2 seconds later, Reese lets out a loud burp and throws up all over herself, Jessica, the couch and the carpet. I was speechless.. for a moment. I felt so bad for Reese (Jessica too - no one likes getting thrown up on). HM called me right after and I told her what had happened and she asked if she had had her medicine yet and I said I gave it to her right before I gave her the bottle. I thought she just drank her milk too fast.

So, lets move on to Wednesday. A few fevers and amoxicillin later - about noon, I notice that Reese has a rash on her torso. I call her doctor and speak to a nurse I'm not familiar with who tells me to watch it and call back if it gets any worse. Around 2p, I decided to take the babies to the pool so they could take a nap in the shade and I could sit in the sun for a few hours...
About 330p, I notice that Reese now has red bumps on her arms, neck, cheeks and forehead. I call TBD and then the doctor. This time, I spoke with our favorite nurse and tell her the deal. She got upset when I told her that I called before and that I was told to call back. She says, "Reese is having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin and to STOP giving it to her." She talks to our doctor, then called me back to say that they've called in a Z pack for Reese. Poor baby girl. From about noon until 4p, I called HM about 40 times on her cell and she never picked up.
She finally calls me back at 430p after she's seen all her missed calls and the first thing out of her mouth is "Reese is having an allergic reaction..that's why she threw up last night". See - if she would've just answered her phone, I would've known much sooner!

So today - Reese is a happy little girl with bumps all over her body.... all except her legs.

I guess these are the trials of being a first time mommy. I just don't always catch things right away because they've never happened to us before.

Please pray that my baby girl has no reaction to the Z pack!!
Any suggestions on how to make her rash go away??????

We're in the Club

Yes...we're now officially in the Mini-van Club! We couldn't bear to let the G's be in this new club without us (they just drove theirs to Kansas). We picked up our new Honda Odyssey Touring edition yesterday. I wanted the "mocha metallic" one but the only dealership with in 100 miles wasn't willing to trade with our dealership. I was a little sad but perked right up once I saw the "nighthawk black metallic" with the ivory leather interior! Out of the 5 cars I've purchased in my life..this is the 3rd black one.

I did take photo's of our new car yesterday..but sad to say I need TBD's help to download them. I really gotta learn this stuff on my own! Will post photo's later! Yeah for the new Club...

Correction - I was 30! YIKES!

My memory is starting to fail me folks! I guess I need to start writing the dates on the back of ALL my photos. My dear sweet cousin pointed out the fact that the picture I posted yesterday was taken Christmas of 1994..not 1992. I kind of thought I had the date wrong .. was thinking 1993.

I knew I had bought that sweater to wear for my first Christmas holiday with my new boyfriend "Byron". I saw him a few days later. So much has happened in my life the past year that my keen memory isn't as keen...YIKES! This makes much more sense to me now.

So, correction - I was 30 and HM was 16. There you go.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 28

This photo was taken the Christmas of 1992. This is Happy Mommy and me ~ she's 14 and I'm 28 and we're at our Aunt Jan's house. This is the first Christmas Eve we started going to Aunt Jan's. We always went to my Grandma's on Christmas day but this year we decided to mix it up a bit. We had heard about all the fun we were missing out on so this year I insisted that we all go for Christmas Eve. We had such a nice time but there was no place for us to stay that night. My folks stayed at my Dad's brother's house and HM and I stayed at the Holiday Inn down the street. I got a travel agent discount and I only paid $29 for the room. Notice that we have on matching lipstick? I'll have you know that it's called Raspberry Glace by Clinique. I just got a free gift with purchase the other day and it had that color included. Still a best seller I'm guessing. Anyway, wanted to share a photo of me and my best gal. For more nostalgic photos, please visit we are That family and enjoy!

Tag - I'm It

The ABC's of me
A. Attached or Single? Attached - TBD and I have been together 4 1/2 years and married for 3 1/2
B. Best Friend? My best friend is TBD and the runner up is Happy Mommy
C. Cake or Pie? Hello - CAKE
D. Day of choice? Saturday because we can sleep in
E. Essential item? My Vitry Tweezers
F. Favorite color? It changes so currently it's grass green
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears - must be eaten in pairs of the same color
H. Home town? Huber Heights, Ohio
I. Favorite indulgence? 3 Muskateers bar
J. January or July? January because I look better in a cashmere sweater vs bathing suit
K. Kids? Yes - we have 2 (twins boy/girl)
L. Life isn't complete without? My journal/diary/lists
M. Marriage Date? January 15, 2005
N. Number of brothers and sisters? I have one sister who is 8 years older than me - Happy Mommy's mommy
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples Granny Smith
P. Phobia's? Don't really have any phobia's but I'm a little OCD and I have to eat everything in pairs and do everything twice (see K.)
Q. Quotes? I don't really have any quotes but I think "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" is classic
R. Reasons to smile? Tate and Reese
S. Season of choice? Fall - my birthday is in October
T. Tag 5 people. Greek Grits - Giovanna Diaries - Double A and M -
Our American Life through Korean Eyes - My Healing Road (I tagged people I have never tagged before so if you want to play please do - just leave me a comment so I can read your answers)
U. Unknown fact about me? I'm a little obsessed with my eyebrows (see E.)
V. Vegetable? Peas or broccoli
W. Worst habit? I peel my thumbs
X. Xray or ultrasound? Ultrasound
Y. Your favorite food? Mexican
Z. Zodiac sign? Libra

Eye Appointments - and then Some

Update on yesterday's doctors visit - Tate and Reese just have bad colds. No ear infections which I was afraid of....so, no antibiotics this time either. Tate is very raspy/wheezy and his doctor thinks maybe it's the start of asthma. We came home with our own nebulizer and Tate loves the treatments. He doesn't wear the mask, I just put the blower in his face and he grabs it and puts it in his mouth..even better.

Today Tate had an ultrasound/sonogram on his right eye. Pleased to say that the back of his eye (retina) looks good..no changes there. We've been referred to a pediatric opthomologist surgeon who's new to our area but he used to practice at the Rainbow Hospital/Cleveland Clinic. This makes me very happy..he's had a lot of practice on iris surgery.

Tomorrow we go to John's Hopkins in Baltimore for Reese's consult with an ocularplastic surgeon. We're praying that she agrees with the new ocularist and suggests the Gunderson flap procedure for her. I'm just looking forward to when all Reese's ocular visits are a thing of the past and she can get used to life with a prosthetic shell.

Just to add a few things to our week - our nephew Noah is in the hospital again with another Chrones episode. He's lost a lot of weight and he's very uncomfortable. My father in law is also in the hospital. He has COPD and isn't doing very well. My nephew Happy Daddy (Happy Mommy's hubby) had orthoscoptic surgery on his right knee today..happy to say that the surgery was a success and he's resting comfortably at home. Happy Mommy has probably been cooking/baking all day to make him his favorites...she loves to feed her man. And one more - my dad was diagnosed today with skin cancer on 2 different areas (face and hand). When it rains..it POURS!!

Keep our family in your prayers this week...we all need it!

Keeping it in the Family

Tate has a cold. He's shared it with Reese, myself, his aunt Happy Mommy and 2 of his cousins. Though I've been trying to teach my babies to share with each other..I certainly didn't mean this! His cold has now gone into his chest and he's a bit wheezy and very cranky. He's just sitting in his playroom crying right now and doesn't even want to be held at the moment. Just to be safe, I'm taking both babies to see Dr. Michel today at 11a. He's never put the babies on antibiotics so we'll see if he does this time. I'll keep you posted. Happy Mommy, how are you, Bo and Daisy today?

Happy Father's Day!

To my wonderful husband ~ Happy 2nd Father's Day! Tate and Reese couldn't decide what to get TBD for Father's Day. They finally decided on a watch. TBD has dropped a few hints of wanting a casual watch so... yesterday, we headed off to Macy's and found the perfect one. (If you click on the X, you can see the watch.)

We gave my dad a GPS for his birthday/Father's Day combo present. Tate, Reese and I just spent 2 days with him and really enjoyed our visit. We looked through a lot of old pictures that I'd forgotten about. I'm so ready for next Thursday's "Sincerely Fro You to Me"!!

What Father's Day gift did you give?

Here we go again...

Yesterday, Tate had an EUA (eye exam under anesthesia) and we found out that his right (good) eye has changed a bit since last November. Long story short ~ he needs surgery to open his pupil and iris. He's not getting the correct amount of fluid to
the top chamber of his eye. He has a lot of scar tissue in both eyes which don't allow his pupils to dilate since they are scarred down to his iris. They plan to cut a whole in is pupil and snip his iris to let the fluid drain properly. This is not what I expected to hear.... at all. TBD and I were a little taken back.

All of this on top of what Reese must go through this summer. I haven't posted about it but Reese's prosthetic shell didn't work out at all. She had 2 weeks of constant pain. She shut down and quit eating.. all she wanted to do was sleep, curl up in a ball and cry - while being held at all times. We found out she had a corneal abrasion which is so painful. The shell just didn't fit and no matter how many times they tried to correct it to reshape, it just didn't work. We gave our sweet girl a break and decided to get a second opinion. We found another ocularist who works at Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore and also has an office in Bethesda. We went for a consultation on 6/2 and we just loved him. He was so knowledgeable and we just felt so at ease with him. He suggested that Reese undergo a procedure called a Gunderson Flap. We knew about that procedure and were hoping he would recommend it. Basically, it is a pillow placed over her cornea that desensitises it so she can wear the shell. She has a consultation with a surgeon next Wednesday. We were expecting one baby having eye surgery this summer but not two.

Please keep both Tate and Reese in your prayers.

Stole from Happy Mommy..again!

You Are Sunrise

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary. You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward. Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts. All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

What Time Of Day Are You?

*** This so cracks me up because I'm NEVER cooking for friends..however, I do like to buy gifts for my friends so this is 1/2 right.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 3

This picture was taken in 1967 on my Aunt Jan's front porch when I was 3 years old. If I let Tate's hair grow, I think it will look just like this! I loved going to my Aunt Jan's because I was crazy about my cousin Stacy. We always had such great times together. For more nostalgic photos, visit we are THAT family and enjoy! PS...who loves my shoes???

We're Home!

Here are 2 pictures I stole from Happy Mommy. I really need to learn how to download my own photo's instead of waiting for TBD to get a free moment and do it. Reese is asleep in our beach cabana and Tate is gazing at his favorite thing.

Well we had such a nice time on our vacation...a few highlights;

1) TBDaddy's Daddy was admitted into the hospital and we thought we had to leave early

2) Tate had a reaction to his Chicken Pox vaccination and had fever and pocks for 2 days

3) Got to go on a date w/ TBD while Happy Mommy/Daddy watched our babies

4) Reese and Tate didn't like the sand or water until 3rd day

5) Babies under 3 not allowed to swim in the pool - biggest bummer ever!

We had such a great time and we can't wait to do it again next year! I'll post more photo's later this week.