Twice Blessed Mommy

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese 2/19/07

2009-02-19T01:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I just haven't been in the mood.... However, today is different! My little miracle babies are TWO today!!!

I got pregnant and was due on 5/30/07. Needless to say, we were quite surprised when my water broke on 2/19/07! Thank Jesus that I was already in the hospital on bed rest.

So this is a picture of Tate... He was born at 6:18 am and weighed 1lb 14oz and was 13in long.

And this is a picture of Reese... She was born at 6:19 am and weighed 1lb 8oz and 13in long.

They are true miracles sent from God and we are so blessed. It makes me sad that neither of their Grandfathers will be at their 2nd birthday party. For more "Fro me to you" action, check out Kristen's blog at "We are that Family". (The party is Saturday..I'll post some pictures next week if Happy Mommy doesn't beat me to it!)

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-24T01:15:00.000-08:00

58th Wedding Anniversary

2008-12-16T06:12:00.001-08:00

Hey..I feel like I've not written in such a long time. Truth be told, I just can't get back into the bloggy swing. But..today is a special day. Today is my parents 58th wedding anniversary. I had grand plans to visit my mom, sister (Kristy with a K) and Happy Mommy today. We were going to place a special Christmas wreath on my Dad's grave and then celebrate as best we could with a nice dinner that Happy Mommy prepared. Well here I sit in my office...my kids both have sinus infections, bad coughs and I myself have a stomach flu. So much for celebrating.

Since I can't be with my family today, I thought I'd post this picture of my parents 58 years ago today. My dad would've been so happy to celebrate today. He loved getting together with his family but more importantly, he loved his wife more than words could say. He set such a high standard as a husband that I didn't even consider marriage until TBD came along when I was 38.

Anyway, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-27T18:45:00.000-08:00

Hello regular Twice Blessed Mommy readers!

Twice Blessed Daddy is guest-hosting today from sunny (but very cold) Ohio. We're here visiting TBM family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. Today, we're in Columbus where the TBM extended family meets every year to stuff ourselves silly with turkey and pies and catch up on old times. The yearly family picture is taken, and pictures from past years always bring laughter and tears. This year has been bittersweet, since TBM's Dad is here only in spirit. However, we have been blessed by the happy memories of years gone by, though his ever present sense of humor will always be missed. And, we know he is gloating, in spirit, at Ohio State beating Michigan once again earlier this month.

Tate and Reese are making their first visit to the annual Thanksgiving event, and are both sick with a cold (naturally). However, since they are now really toddlers, this does not slow them down; they're just more effective at passing their cold around as they run around the house. Since they tend to weave through people a lot faster than TBD (they've evidently watched football and know how to use blockers), I think the exercise I got today more than compensated for all the food.

Tate has been particularly active, more than we would expect since his cold is a bit worst than Reese's. We think it's because he can see better. On Tuesday, he got a custom-fitted contact lens to replace the lens they removed during surgery a month or so ago. Putting a wafer-thin piece of saran wrap in his eye is a bit of a challenge (we dropped it in his mouth on the first try, which made the nurse who said "I've seen everything" say "I've never seen that"), so I leave it to TBM and just "assist" as needed. Once he had it in and was on his two feet, he immediately stopped crying and stared in the distance. I thought I heard him say "whoa" (we must watch too many Keanu Reeves movies). It was obvious he might have been seeing pretty well for the first time in his life.

So, if you're wondering what TBM and I are thankful for today, it's that we are dog-tired from chasing our agile (but sick) kids who are acting a lot like normal children.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

My Kids Learned to "Salsa"

2008-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

I swear I just walked away for a few minutes to put the clothes in the dryer. When I came back to the kitchen.....Tate and Reese had got a jar of salsa out of the pantry (which is child proofed) and opened it (not sure how they did this) and poured it out into two nice piles..one next to her and one next to him. Now where are the chips when you need them?

Another Surgery for Tate

2008-11-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

Tate is having another procedure in the morning at 9am. It's an exam under anesthesia to be exact. His doctor is going to fit him for contacts... I'm not sure how thrilled I am about the idea of contacts for him. I'd like to have glasses too as a back up. Can you imagine...."Tate, let mommy put your contact back in your eye....hey Reese, let mommy put your eye back in". Sounds lovely huh? Reese is constantly taking her prosthetic shell out of her eye. Lately, she's been bringing it to me and saying "uh oh". She's getting better at giving it to me and not putting it in her mouth.

I'm taking Reese to visit Aunt Jessica at 730a tomorrow morning. She should have a lot of fun with Jessica and her new room mate. Reese gets to help Jessica fluff her new "luv city sac".

Please pray for Tate that there are no complications and that we hear all good news. I'm so tired of bad news these days....

A Month Ago

2008-11-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Time and really dragged and then flown by this past month. It's really hard to believe that my dad died one month ago today. I'm still very sad and it comes over me at any given moment. I prayed to dream about my dad and so far I've had 3 dreams. The first was the best...he walked into a room and we immediately hugged for a long time. I woke up very happy that day and felt that God answered my prayers. Not only did I dream about my dad, but I also dreamed about my Grandma F. We were all at my Aunt Brenda's for a holiday (Thanksgiving?) and my Grandma F pulled up in her car (it was big Grandma F..not the skinny frail one she turned into but the one I remember from my whole life). We all freaked out that she was there and my Aunt Jan explained to us that it was no big deal..she'd just been on a trip! Ha..yeah, like a 10 year vacation! Anyway, it was nice to dream about her too. My mom was quite amused at this dream of mine.

I hosted BUNCO and won last night! That's the most excitement we've had around here for a while. It was nice to have 10 of my friends over for a girls night in. I'm trying to get myself back into the blogging habit. I realize that I've missed it but have been in such a funk. Hopefully, I'll get it together in time for the holidays...

I need to get going..my kids are cranky and both have runny noses ... not to mention they are still adjusting to the time change.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T14:37:00.001-08:00

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-15T07:13:00.001-07:00

***I know this is supposed to be wordless and that Happy Mommy has posted this picture a few times but I wanted to see my Dad's photo on my blog too. It's been a week today...

I'm Still Here...Very Sad but Still Here

2008-10-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt like blogging for over a week. There are no words to describe the emptiness I feel in my heart. It just all happened so quick. I'm thankful that I made it to the hospital in time and that my Dad got to see me and the twins. I prayed for time and I was given 26 hours to be with my Dad. He got to see Tate walk and he was so tickled at how cute he is. I'm thankful for my cousin Stacy and Aunt Brenda who came to town on Thursday morning to help with my kids. I don't know what I would've done without their help. I could hardly take care of myself let alone my babies. I'm thankful for all my family who came to pay their respects to my Dad. I'm thankful for the flowers, cards and kind words from my friends. I'm thankful that Happy Mommy's good friend dropped everything to come and watch her kids. I'm thankful that our former pastor flew in from Memphis TN to preach my Dad's service and tell us wonderful things about him. Please pray for my mom..I feel so sorry for her. My sister Kristy is staying with her and taking care of her until things settle a bit. This will be a big adjustment for all of us. I dread the holidays....especially Friday, my birthday. This will be the first time in 44 years that my Dad won't wish me a Happy Birthday or sing to me. Not looking forward to it at all...
But now, it's back to normal but things just don't feel the same. I guess this is the new normal.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Happy Mommy Age 2

2008-10-02T04:24:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the theme of Happy Mommy's birthday week, I'm sharing this adorable picture of her at my grandma's house (her great grandma). She used to love to play dress up and her and our cousin Justin were playing "indians" that day. This is her showing us her little rain dance...isn't she just too cute?

So again, Happy Birthday week Happy Mommy! Love you...
For more "fro me to you" action, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and check it out...you'll be glad you did.

Surgery Update, NICU Reunion and Shampoo

2008-09-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've felt like sitting down to blog. I guess I've been in a bit of a funk lately...and feeling a little old since my niece just turned 30! YIKES!

Tate's surgery went very well. Dr. Trese tried to make a few cuts to Tate's pupil in hopes that it would just spring open but that didn't work. He had to cut away part of his iris to make his pupil size be 4mm which is good. He removed the rest of his lens capsule and did a bit of laser to remove old scar tissue. He also put an air bubble in Tate's eye because his retina is slightly folded and this should help flatten it out. We had to keep Tate on his belly for 2 days and that was quite the task. We are going back to Detroit on 10/14 for a check up (we usually follow up with his doctor here but Dr. Trese wants to see him first) and hopefully that will be our last visit to the Motor City. For all of you who are wondering ~ Yes we finally went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sad to report it was a bit underwhelming. The highlight was listening to "Roundabout" by YES on a video monitor since it's in the top 500 songs that changed rock and roll. I'm a HUGE Yes fan for those of you who don't already know that!

We went to the first NICU reunion last Sunday. It was quite surreal seeing all my friends that I made (my pump room buddies) while the twins were there and their children. I was so happy to see our 2 favorite doctors and they were equally as happy to see Reese and Tate. It was a little disappointing that we only saw a few of the nurses who cared for them. We were hoping to see our favorites but none of them were there. The nurse who let me touch Tate for the first time when he was just 1 day old was there and she came right up and hugged me..that surprised me a bit but she was really sweet. I think we'll go back next year for sure. I hate to say this but I was quite surprised that out of all the kids who were in the NICU at the same time as my kids, none of them had any health issues. Please don't get me wrong..I'm very relieved that they are all healthy with no problems. It's just made me feel a little worse about my kids vision issues... and selfishly so. Please don't say "It could've been worse" because I already know how their whole ordeal could've turned out...I just wish that they too had no problems at all.

Okay, last subject is Shampoo. I will tell you that I always have been and always will be a shampoo snob. Even in my broke and single days I would buy expensive hair products and live on rice and cereal. I'm in a shampoo rut. I always have at least 3 different shampoos and alternate their use (just to keep my hair surprised) but I've been using the same ones for years and I'm getting very bored with them. I'm asking for your help and opinions..which shampoos do you use and why? There really is a huge difference between salon poos and drugstore brands. My hair will attest that this is true. Anyway, please let me know if you have any good shampoos I should try. Thanks for your help!!

Happy Birthday Happy Mommy - She's 30!

2008-09-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

I'm guest blogging on Happy Mommy's site today in honor of her 30th Birthday!!
Check it out!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Week in Review

2008-09-24T08:42:00.000-07:00

19 on the 19th

2008-09-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Just realizing that my twins are 19 months old today and that today is the 19th! It's their Golden Month Birthday!! Did I just make that up? They are taking a nap so I'm catching up reading blogs when I should be packing! We're leaving tomorrow late afternoon to head on over to Detroit by way of Cleveland (RRHF here I come). Tate's surgery is early Monday morning and I'm asking again for all my blogger friends and family to pray for my sweet little guy.

Will keep you all posted after his surgery. Thanks for praying!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Milo Age 10 Weeks

2008-09-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

My IVF transfer was on 9/11/06. About a week later (this time that same year), Happy Mommy tells me of a French Bulldog puppy for sale in her neck of the woods. Twice Blessed Daddy and I had talked much about getting a Frenchie puppy for about 2 years but were on the fence about it. I asked TBD what did he think? He wasn't exactly for or against it but since we were still waiting to see if I was pregnant or not...we decided to wait. Well...I waited about 2 hours and then made the call and found out that the puppy had just been sold. Not to be I thought. So after a few hours of being bummed, I decided to look on Pet Finder for Frenchie Puppies and this is what I found:

I almost flipped!!! He was the cutest Frenchie puppy I'd ever seen! His name was Langdon. I called the breeder and yes he was still available. I told TBD to look at his sweet little face and that was it. We put down a deposit and bought ourselves a Frenchie. We arranged to pick him up on Friday 9/21 in Pennsylvania.

On Thursday 9/20, we got the call that my test was positive! And my hcg levels were triple what they should've been so we had a feeling right from the start that we were having twins.

On Friday morning, we drove to PA to get Langdon and we promptly changed his name to MILO. This is his picture on the day we brought him home....by the way, the breeder informed us that this litter was done through IVF so we knew right then, it was meant to be...I was having an IVF baby...he was an IVF baby...funny huh?:

Here are a few more pictures after he was in our home and settling in;

So here's to Milo who's our crazy clown dog and such a special part of our family. We're so happy you've been a part of our lives for the past two years!

For more "Fro me to you" action, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and have yourself a look.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

Long Day ~ 1st Emergency Room Visit ~ Reese

2008-09-11T19:00:00.001-07:00

Today was very hectic. While we were waiting for Tate's OT to come for a visit this morning, the kids broke free from their playroom as I was in the restroom. I see them both go by as I had the bathroom door open. Next, I hear bells ringing letting me know that they were at the front door (Milo's I need to go potty so I ring the bells). Then a loud crash, glass shatter and Reese screaming/crying. I come running around the corner to see Tate at the front door and he's holding a huge chunk of glass out to me. Reese is sitting next to a wrought iron vase holder that she has managed to pull over. It holds a glass vase with glass rocks and flowers. She is covered in blood and holding a large chunk of glass in her right hand. I grab the glass out of her hand and notice that her middle finger is badly cut. I scoop her up and run to the bathroom leaving a blood trail behind. I rinse it off , grab a towel and apply pressure. Call TBD at work and he doesn't pick up. Call the pediatrician and find out they don't do stitches (should I have known this?). Call TBD again who doesn't pick up. Call Emi (Tate's OT) and cancel. Call Happy Mommy who walks me through what I should do. All while Milo is walking around the glass and Tate keeps going back to the front door. I'm freaking at this point and TBD still doesn't answer his phone! Milo in the crate, Tate in his car seat and Reese's hand taped up and in her car seat, we're on our way to the ER. I finally remember TBD's emergency number while talking to HM. Happy Mommy gets him pulled out of a meeting and tells him what's happened. He finally calls me as I'm driving to the nearest ER. Then I call my sister in law forgetting that she's with her mom at the doctor. Her husband, my BIL calls and tells me to make sure that the ER has a plastic surgeon on call. He makes some calls for me and it's decided to take Reese to the ER hospital where she was born quite a few more miles away...they have a pediatric ER. I meet TBD along the way, he parks his car and drives us to the ER. Reese has quit bleeding awhile earlier and I'm a little less frantic at this point. We make it to the hospital, TBD drops us off, takes Tate to our BIL's and comes back to see us. In the meantime, Reese is seen straight away. They decide to clean her hand, give her a shot in her hand that will block the nerves and stitch her right up. She's strapped down in a papoose and I'm holding her left hand and stroking her head while she's screaming at the top of her lungs. Her knuckle was cut pretty deep but no tendon or muscle damage. She got two stitches, a splint and bandaged up. She looks like she flipping everyone the bird which I'm sure she is. TBD gets back just in time for it to be all over and we are discharged. We go back home and give our sweet girl some Motrin. My SIL and MIL were at our house cleaning up all the glass and blood when we arrived...thanks for that! I take Reese up to our room and we climb in bed and take a nap together. Tate enjoyed the day with his uncle Jeff and cousin/aunt Jessica who were apartment hunting for Jessica. I know this post is very disorganized but please excuse me...it's been a rough day!!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Day 5 Transfer

2008-09-11T01:15:00.000-07:00

Twice Blessed Daddy and I both waited until we were a bit older in life to get married. On January 15, 2005, we tied the knot...I was 40 and TBD was 44 (it was also TBD's parents 50th wedding anniversary). We decided to try and start a family right away. We had trouble conceiving on our own, so we did what many people do and turned to a fertility clinic. I will tell you that one of the worst things a woman can hear in her life is that she has "old eggs". After one failed attempt at IVF (10/05), we waited almost a year before we tried again. I was the one who wanted to wait. I was in such a funk after the first round failed and was very depressed for several months. It hit me a lot harder than I had expected.

In the summer of 2006, I started working out much harder than usual. I went from running 2-3 miles a day to 3-5 miles a day (5 days a week), I walked 2 miles almost every morning with Mrs. G before we would head over to Curves. I also walked with TBD some evenings. I decided that I was going to be in the best shape I could be in if/when I ever became pregnant. Later that summer, our church had a series called "Deep Water Faith". On the kickoff Sunday of the series, they placed a blank sheet of paper in the bulletin. After the service, they asked everyone to write down a subject that needed to have complete faith about. You could sign it or remain anonymous. We were told that all notes would be read and that the staff would pray for each and every request. I wrote almost word for word, "TBD and I are trying to decide if we should try IVF again or go straight to adoption. We want to have faith that the one we choose is the right decision". I placed my signed piece of paper in the oak box.

Two days later, I woke up from a dream and knew right then and there that we were supposed to try IVF one more time. I turned to TBD and told him that I just had a dream about us and IVF and felt absolute peace that this was the right decision. He agreed to proceed but requested that we change clinics. Not a problem. I also told him that I wanted to go to an acupuncturist who specializes with IVF patients. We made our appointments later that week and we were all set.

We went on vacation to London and Paris and on our way home 8/11/06, I started my first injection of Lupron while on board the airplane. It was kind of cool, sitting in our seats and TBD giving me a shot in my belly. I had a great month without too much pain and my retrieval date was 9/6/06. They were able to get 10 eggs from me..this was great news since the first time I only had 5. We waited for the progress report daily and it was decided to transfer on 9/11/06, day 5 which is amazing (for those of you who don't know much about IVF, a day 5 transfer is the best you could hope for)!

So two years ago today, on 9/11/06, I finally had something wonderful happen to me. After living and working in NYC during 9/11, it was about time that something special happened on that date. Here is a picture of Tate and Reese taken right before they were implanted in my belly. This day turned out to be one of the best days of our life! (I covered my real name.)

I'm so happy that our church had that series. We prayed in earnest to have the faith we needed to make our family complete....and it worked!

For more "fro me to you" action, go to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and check it out. It's the best thing in the blogging world happening on Thursdays.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

Update on Tate

2008-09-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Tate's surgery went as well as could be expected. He did have a cataract which had to be removed, meaning they removed his ocular lens. They were able to open his pupil which was the main goal of his procedure. They did have to make one serious decision and we're glad that opted to stop where they did. I should mention that Dr. Trese (doctor in Detroit) was aware of Tate's surgery and acted as a consultant. After removing his cataract and all the lens cavity, they wanted to make a small hole in the back of his lens chamber. After noticing that Tate still has some residual ROP scaring, they realized if they did make this hole, it would pull on his retina. This is where Dr. Trese will come in. We will be making hopefully a final trip to Detroit so he can do this delicate procedure on Tate. So all in all, this is a good thing. Tate will probably have to wear glasses or a single contact on his right eye but that is so minor.

Tate's primary doctor who lead the surgery told us that Tate's cataract was so opaque, that he didn't really think that there had been any useful vision in his right eye. What?? Here we've been so worried about this procedure since all this time we've thought it was his "good eye". After Tate's right eye was patched yesterday, we were not sure how much he could see out of his left eye which has a severely dragged macula. I tell you people, I'm so happy to report that Tate was not the least bit affected by his right eye being patched (except that he kept trying to remove it all day). He played and acted like his usual self.....so now we realize that even though his macula is dragged, he still has had very useful vision out of his left eye....who knew?

I'm looking forward to know how he sees after I take him to the doctor this morning to have the patch removed. Since his pupil is now open, he should be able to see much better. And we do know he was nearsighted in that eye and removing the lens should correct that. The reason he'll need glasses or a contact is to replace the lens and help him focus.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. It has really meant a lot to me and our family. I'll keep everyone posted on when we make our trek back to Detroit. Maybe there's still hope for me and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ First Time I Held Tate

2008-09-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on March 7, 2007 and it was the first time I held my son. His nurse Connie let me hold him and I was so happy that I could hardly contain myself. My parents were there with me but TBD was on his way to the hospital from work and he missed it. I was so happy that Connie took this picture and gave it to me right then and there. She was one of my favorite nurses of Tate's. I'm doing this "Fro me to you" on Tate because I found out yesterday that he is going to have his long awaited eye surgery next Monday 9/8 (my sister's birthday- Happy Mommy's mom). This is a very complicated surgery and they are expecting complications but 2 of his doctors will be there to handle any situations that may occur (ocularplastic surgeon for the iris and retinal surgeon for the retina). Please pray for my little boy, that the Lord has mercy on Tate and that there is NO cataract, hence saving his ocular lens.

This next picture was taken last Saturday when we all went to Kings Dominion for my nephew's birthday celebration. Tate loved the merry go round and I loved taking him on it...that's not completely true! I had just rode a roller coaster with Luke and my brain was a bit rattled and I felt very nauseous and going round and round didn't help!

Anyway, please be so kind and keep Tate in your prayers.

For more "Fro me to you" fun, check out Kristen's blog at "we are THAT family".

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

Dinner With Grown Ups!

2008-08-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

Last night was a rare occasion for me! I went to dinner with my good friend Mrs G and Sojung. We had planned to eat Mexican all week but last minute change and we ate sushi instead. It was delicious!....and I got to eat my meal without feeding any babies. Afterwards, Sojung asked if we could go to Super H Mart which is a huge Korean market. It was way too cool. We had fun walking around and looking at all the different food items. I never realized there were so many types of fresh fish in one store. I wanted to look at the baby food but didn't get a chance. I wonder if they had some sort of fishy baby food or sushibaby? Who knows...

Just wanted to brag on my grown up night! Lots of good food and fun was had by all.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 40 with Happy Mommy

2008-08-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

Since I'm leaving in 30 minutes to meet Happy Mommy, Daisy and my sister Kristy (Kristy is having eye surgery), I felt it only right that I post a picture of HM and myself. This was taken October 2004. We spent the day at our nations capital walking around and having lots of fun. Daisy wasn't around yet...as a matter of fact, HM got pregnant with her a few weeks after this picture was taken. I had just moved from NYC and we all decided to spend a nice weekend together. HM came to see me and get fitted for her bridesmaid dress. Anyway, just wanted to post a pic of me and my best girl.

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

Happy Birthday Luke!

2008-08-20T06:53:00.001-07:00

Today is my nephew Luke's 7th birthday! I can't believe how time has flown by. We've been very fortunate to be able to celebrate most of his birthday's with him. This year we're taking the whole Happy Mommy family to Kings Dominion to celebrate. Should be a lot of fun for all!

Today I'm sharing some goofy pictures of Luke and I. He loves it when we take these self portrait pictures and so do I. Happy Birthday Luke Skywalker....We love you! (I think we have a tongue theme going on here.... the first pic is my attempt at rolling my tongue which everyone in my whole family can do except me and my mom.)

I did find a picture of Luke's 4th birthday in 2005 when we were at Busch Gardens. We went to Water Country in the morning and Busch Gardens later that evening and back to BG the next day. This is taken at Water Country. I even found one of our sweet girl Daisy at the pool with us. Like HM said, she is only 5 weeks old but she had fun that weekend.

Frustrated!!

2008-08-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Detroit was a bust! No zoo..no Rock and Roll Hall of Fame..no surgery...nothing!

We were so excited that Tate's care was now in Dr. Trese's hands only to be shut down. The appointment was Tuesday at 145p. This was our fifth trip to his office and at the most, we've waited 45 minutes. They have a great set up. You sign in and they administer the drops while you wait so when your name is called, you go straight in to see the doctor. This visit was quite a bit different...to say the least. We arrived at 140p and there was not a seat available to sit it. There were at least 50 people in this waiting room..parents along with their children all waiting to see Dr. Trese. I guess they got a little behind that day. There were at least seven blind children there and it was quite humbling for me.

We were finally seen at 430p and promptly found out that the letter from our doctor never made it to Tate's file..good thing I was prepared and had a copy myself. Dr. Trese comes in, reads the letter in front of us, looks at Tate for maybe 2 minutes (remember I said previously that Tate's eyes do not dilate so he couldn't see behind them very well), and tells us that he doesn't preform perifial iridectomys..only bilateral ones. What?? He said that we should go back to Tate's surgeon..you know, the one who sent us to Dr. Trese.. and have him preform the iridecomy and leave the lens alone. Even if Tate has a cataract or if the Dr gives him one, just leave the lens as is and then bring Tate back and Dr. Trese can remove the lens.

This could have all been found out with a simple call from our doctors to Dr. Trese. He could have given his second opinion over the phone instead of giving it to us during a 10 minute office visit. Which by the way cost us well over $600 in hotels, gas and not even counting food. We were very upset when we left there ( I did tell Dr. T that our doctor didn't want to do the surgery and wanted him to do it but it was kind of a mute point since he doesn't even do them).

The next day, we drove 12 hours home..our 8 hour drive always turns into 12 with stopping to feed our kids, and realized that now we were no longer upset but rather mad and frustrated.
We're now awaiting a call back from Tate's primary opthamologist who was rather quite surprised when I called and told him our ordeal. He's getting involved and having the surgeon fit Tate in for surgery ASAP. So, hopefully we'll know a little more next week.

Please keep little Tate in your prayers since he now has to wait even longer for this procedure....oh yeah, and pray for his frustrated mommy too!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Engagement Photos

2008-08-14T13:04:00.001-07:00

I decided to share some of my engagement photos for this weeks SFMTY. These were taken on 11/5/04 just a few months before our wedding. We had a really nice time with our photographer Brian. I especially like the last one of us walking towards the camera. My hair was on the lighter side and I prefer it darker now....but have to admit that I LOVE my jacket!

For more Fro Me To You fun, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and have yourself a peek.

PS..Can you guess which big city we live only 30 miles from???

Road Trip to the Motor City

2008-08-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

We're off on another road trip...not a pleasure trip however. We are going to Detroit again to take Tate to see Dr.Trese. We haven't been to see Dr. Trese since last September. We are both relieved and anxious about this visit.

We learned in May that Tate's right eye has changed since his last eye exam in November. It was explained to us that Tate's eye is getting shallow and the fluid in his eye isn't flowing like it should. They just need to poke a little hole in his pupil to get to his iris and then make some holes in his iris which will allow the fluid to flow properly. If we do nothing, it will surely result in glaucoma. His surgeons here fear that if they do the surgery, they may cause a cataract (they think he may already have one forming) which will result in removing his ocular lens. The problem with that is he may have scar tissue behind his lens and if they even touch it, it could detach his retina. Drama right? And I forgot to mention that Tate's pupils don't dilate because they are scarred down to his iris from the ROP. His opthomologist and retina specialist have highly recommended taking Tate to Detroit to have Dr. Trese give a second opinion and ultimately have him do the surgery. They are also hoping that the doctor can loosen that scar tissue for proper dilation.

The worse thing about all this is that this is Tate's right eye which is his good eye. We know he can see out of his left but the vision in the right is much better. Dr. Trese is Tate's best hope for a successful outcome. Please keep our family in your prayers for safe traveling mercies and especially for our sweet baby boy. We know God has great plans for Tate and we just want his vision to be perfect.

This will be our fifth trip to Detroit. I've made only one request...to stop in Cleveland on our way back to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We'll need a little excitement after all this. I also hope to take the babies to the zoo while we're there. We took them last summer and it was a lot of fun. Well....I better get back to packing. Just wanted to keep everyone up to date and ask for your prayers.

PS.... My 25 year high school reunion is going on as I type this and I obviously wasn't able to make a trip to Dayton Ohio (Wayne High School class of 83) to attend due to this impromptu trip. Hopefully I'll still look good for our 3oth!!!

7 Things About Me MeMe

2008-08-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks cousin Amy for tagging me in this meme. I've had a hard time coming up with 7 things! Just wait until my 100th blog and I have to come up with 100 things! Crazy...anyway, here goes;

1) I smoked for 1 week when I was 18 - hated it!

2) I dated a rock star briefly when I was 26 and we are still friends to this day...he just turned 60! YIKES! I still get free tickets to all his band's shows..and don't call me a groupie please. Groupies aren't invited, they just show up. I'm always invited....because I'm special like that.

3) My hair is naturally wavy/curly and I use big round brushes and blow dry it straight.

4) I have a passion for running. It's my alone time to talk/pray to Jesus. So sad that I haven't ran since the babies were born and I miss it dearly. So start running again, right?

5) I have an obsession with plucking my eyebrows. I do it every day. I'm trying to stop for 1 month and it's killing me (so I've still been plucking the strays).

6) I'm a tweezer snob. I only use Vitry tweezers which I get in Paris. Every time I go to there, I come home with about 10 pair. I give them as presents and keep spares for myself. My husband and I have been to Paris 2 times together and he's been in so many pharmacies helping me look for them and he doesn't complain too much. I have about 4 spares at this time. I think I need to schedule a trip!

7) I love pedicures! They are my most favorite thing to receive. I used to have the luxury of getting one every other week but now I'm lucky if it's once a month. My girl Pham does the best job and my feet just love her.

I'm now tagging the following for this meme~
A Little Mischief
Greek Grits
Our American Life Through Korean Eyes
Kennedy's in Europe
and
Giovanna Diaries
** Sorry in advance ladies but come on..this should be fun!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2008-08-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

My family came for a visit a few weeks ago and we all had a very nice time with each other. My mom's sisters came to see her for a few days and my cousin Stacy brought them along with her daughter Emily. All of them along with Happy Mommy, her kids and my sister Kristy came to my house one day for lunch. I had purchased Mother/Daughter aprons a while back and planned on having them on when they arrived. When everyone saw Reese and I in matching aprons, they thought it was the cutest thing. I did it for Happy Mommy who loves aprons...I wanted to make her laugh. Miss Reese helped me prepare lunch for everyone! The Apron Queen would've been proud! Here are a few photos from that day;

My sister Kristy is facinated by that fact that I can feed 2 babies their bottles at once. She always brags on me which cracks me up. Here is a photo she took of me doing just that. Hey a twin mom has to be creative!

I'm so happy that my Aunts, counsins, mom, sister, neices and nephews came for a visit. It was short but we sure did have fun laughing with each other. Thanks for coming guys..

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 7 Months

2008-08-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned a few SFMTY posts ago, I was recently at my Mom's house and went through a lot of her old photos. I saw this picture of me as a baby and nabbed it. The back says I'm 7 months old and taken in 1965. I think I look very sweet...now I know why Reese's hair has taken so long to come in thick. Anyway, just thought I'd share. For more fun, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and enjoy!

P.S. This may be the dress that my sister Kristy was the first to have her picture taken in, me second, Happy Mommy third, Daisy fourth and Reese will be the fifth. Happy Mommy, please confirm.

Reese's Surgery and Tate's Playdate

2008-08-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

Reese had surgery again on Tuesday morning. Somehow the Gunderson Flap she got on 7/8 tore and she needed a few more stitches. We kept debating whether to take Tate with us again (he was so bored but very good the last time). Our good friends The G's offered to keep him for the day. So, we left our house at 400a and dropped Tate off (I told you she was a good friend) and headed to Baltimore. Reese's surgery lasted only 30 minutes this time and it was a success. She did however wake from the anesthesia in a very distraught state. She screamed, kicked and cried for over an hour and a half. I was very upset because she's never acted this way before. They gave her more and more pain medication but I don't think she was even in pain...just having a bad reaction (bad dream maybe?). Anyway, once we got her back to her own recovery room, she was back to her normal self..maybe she calmed down after seeing her daddy.

All the while, Tate was being doted on by Mrs. G, Audrey, Betty and Sojung. They took him to the park and played with him all day. Here is a picture that they took of him in his stroller. He had a great time and came back smelling lovely (Mrs. G wears Pure Grace and he smelled just like her the rest of the day). We're very blessed to have good friends who are willing to help us any hour of the day or night.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 39 (And Holding)

2008-07-31T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is me on my 39th Birthday in October 2003. My new boyfriend took me to Montreal for the weekend and gave me this great present. I always wanted this Bulgari bracelet and he tricked me by putting it in a Tiffany box. When I opened it ~ I let out a curse word just because I was so shocked (I will not be sharing which one)!

This great boyfriend turned out to be Twice Blessed Daddy. He always gives me the most beautiful presents...so do Tate and Reese. He went to London a week before our getaway and brought me back the Burberry scarf I'm wearing in the first picture.

I was a red head then and didn't go brunette (natural) until January of 2004. I miss the red sometimes but it had a great 8 year run. Head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" for more Fro Me to You fun.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Tate and Reese Age 1 Month ish

2008-07-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Having just posted about my twins, I thought I'd share with you the first time I did Kangaroo Care with Tate and one of the first times I held Reese. Tate was 3 weeks old (pic taken 3/11/07) and Reese was 4 weeks (pic taken 3/17/07) old in these pictures. They didn't even weight 2 pounds at this point. They were just little bitty things. The first time I got to hold Tate chest to chest (hence called Kangaroo) was such a wonderful feeling. They made me wait a little longer to do KC w/ Reese for the fact she was just so tiny. Being a mother of preemies, I felt very robbed of all the normal things moms get to do when their baby's are born. These babies are true miracles and we thank Jesus for them each and every day.

For more "Sincereley Fro Me to You" fun, head on over to Kristen's site and enjoy!

No Longer a Milk Mama

2008-07-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

I've been a Milk Mama since 2/19/07. I started pumping on the day my twins were born. I pumped for the 3 months they were in the NICU and started breast feeding them both the last 2 weeks of their hospital stay. I continued to pump and nurse once they were home. I was somewhat relieved that they had to be supplemented on Enfacare 2 times a day because I just wasn't convinced I had enough milk for both babies. I continued to pump and give them bottles, nurse and give formula (alternating of course) until August. We had to make a trip to Detroit for one of Tate's eye surgeries. The 8 hour trip took us 12 hours. TBD bought an adaptor so I could use my pump in the car. Yes that would be me ~ driving down the highway pumping away. Once we got to the hotel at 2am (we had to be at the hospital at 6a), I pumped for the very last time. I said, "That's it!" and it was.

I then started nursing and giving Enfacare (still twice a day) and that lasted until February. Once the twins turned a year old, I was able to stop the Enfacare. I freaked! So, I started giving them Lipil 2 times a day instead. Tate was the first to lose interest in nursing so I increased his Lipil to 3 times a day in March. They both always nursed first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Reese would nurse several times throughout the day but not for very long.

In May, Tate stopped nursing at night and only nursed in the morning. Reese still nursed at least 3 times a day. In June, Reese only wanted to nurse in the morning and only sometimes at night. They started drinking whole milk the latter part of June and both love it.

I'm so sad to say that Tate stopped nursing completely the last week in June and I can't even remember the day...or the last time for that matter. Now if you know me...I ALWAYS write stuff down. I've had a diary/journal since I was in the 7th grade and I faithfully write in it daily. I've looked through my journal and realized that I didn't even write about it. I guess there's been so much going on lately and have had other things on my mind. At least that's what I've been telling myself because I just can't believe it didn't write it down!

I noticed a few weeks ago that Reese has been less than enthused to nurse in the morning. Now this does make me very sad.. Again, if you know me - you'd never know I was feeling this way. I know so many women enjoy nursing so much (you know who you are!). But for me, I liked it and did love it sometimes, but didn't have that crazy nursing feeling I was expecting to have.
Back to Reese - she started only nursing every few mornings. Then I noticed it was twice a week. Last Saturday about 5am ish, Reese woke up and I was listening to her cry. I thought to myself she'll go back to sleep. Then I remembered that it was her 17 month bday (7/19) and decided to get my girl out of her bed and nurse her for the very last time. She was so happy to see me and she nursed for over 45 minutes while sleeping. I knew that it would be the last time I'd ever nurse a baby.

I'm happy that I remember every little detail about it (and yes, I wrote about it in my journal), but I'm also a lot sadder than I expected. We went to Happy Mommy's house that day for Bo and Daisy's party. I told HM about my morning and could hardly get it out - I started crying and got very upset. I totally didn't expect the emotions I was having . My husband will read this and go "What? I didn't know this." It's not something that I wanted to share until now.

That's all for now. I have to figure out what I'm going to post for tomorrow's SFMTY. Where's the Kleenex?

The Pool Incident

2008-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to take the babies to the pool on Tuesday. Our routine - I wheel them in their double stroller under this massive umbrella, grab a pool chair and lay in the sun next to them, give them Cheerios and sippy cups and they almost always take a nap and sleep for 2 hours give or take.

Reese decided she didn't want to nap but wanted to cry instead. She was cranky, needed a nap and wanted me to hold her. I'd pick her up and get her to fall asleep and put her back in the stroller only to have her wake up and cry some more. I've had to learn how to let a baby cry once in a while (you have to when you have twins). I decided to let her cry it out and figured she'd fall asleep. Didn't happen. My friend April who just happens to be a NICU nurse, came over to me and said "let me hold her - your relax and read your book and I'll walk around a bit with her". Of course I said yes! I don't get too many offers like that and learned not to pass them up. Keep in mind - Tate was asleep the whole time during this.

She was able to get Reese back to sleep and handed her to me and went back to her daughter across the pool. I guess I forgot to mention that 2 women had shown up during one of Reese's crying jags and sat at a table near by. They talked quite loud and the one who was a little more obnoxious than the other had a very strong NY accent. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE NY and miss it very much. She was just one of those ladies who wore all her jewelry at once and wanted everyone to know she was from NY.

I again put Reese back in her stroller and she starts screaming this time..not crying, no tears, just loud screams. I'm very calm during all this because what can I do? We're at the pool and she's not the only screaming kid there - granted the others were swimming and having fun with their friends. Ok..back to the reason I posted this! Now I do realize that there are some people who can't take hearing a baby cry (like I said above - I am used to it). The NY'er comes over and kneels down in front of Tate (who had just woke up about 2 minutes before) and brings with her an orange Popsicle that's 12inches long in a plastic case and asks if she can give it to Reese. I said "no, that's ok". "Can I hold her for you?"...."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"...."she needs to take a nap". Then said NY'er looks at Tate and says "Is he BLIND?"...."NO he's not". Over comes her friend. "Can I hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "What's wrong with her?"..."she needs to take a nap". "Are you sure I can't hold her for you?"..."no, that's ok". "You let that other lady hold her."...."I know, she's my friend".

They finally walked away after that and carried on with their own conversation. I just sat there and couldn't quit thinking how rude it is to ask someone if their child is blind the way she did. I was in a bit of shock and I let it ruin the rest of my day. Why do I have to explain anything to a total stranger?

Anyway, I was able to get Reese back to sleep and she did take an hour nap and was very happy after that. I guess I should've just taken her home and put her to sleep in her crib. It usually works out that they get their nap in and I get some time to soak up some sun. I'm trying to take advantage of this while the weather is still nice. Well - I just wanted to share our pool incident with everyone. Does anyone else get bothered by strangers rude remarks?

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Father in Law

2008-07-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is a special "fro me to you" post of my father in law Ernie. He sadly passed away last Tuesday 7/8/08. This is a picture of him with his granddaughter Jessica who looks to be about 9 months old, so that would make it 1986.

Reese looks quite a bit like Jessica in this picture. I never knew Ernie not to have a nasal canula of oxygen or without gray hair. He looks great and very proud in this photo.

Here's to you Ernie..you'll be missed by many.

For more walks down memory lane, head on over to Kristen's site at "we are THAT family" and enjoy!

It's Been a While!

2008-07-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite a while. Not because I haven't had anything to say - but because I had so much to say and I couldn't get myself together.

To begin, last Tuesday (7/8) Reese had her eye surgery. It went very well and she's recovering nicely. She goes back to Hopkins tomorrow for a post op appt. While she was in recovery, they called me to go and be with her. I held her for over a 1/2 hour while she slept peacefully with her little eye patch on (the nurses told me it was her 3rd - she'd pulled the first 2 off). They finally released us to go to her recovery room on a different floor. They wheeled me (holding her) off to the elevator. When we passed TBD he was on the phone. I said - let's go and he shushed me. I said TBD, we're off to the recovery floor and he said "my Dad died this morning".

The day was very long and full of a lot of emotions. We were expecting this - just not so suddenly. We thought he had a few more months. My husband was not prepared. I don't think you can ever be.

On Wednesday 7/9, Tate had a consultation with an eye specialist. I was told that he definitely needs surgery on his right (good) eye and there's a 50/50 chance it could go right/wrong. I struggled to tell TBD this info so I decided to tell him face to face (he had a meeting he couldn't miss or he'd have been at this appt). If we do nothing, we guarantee Tate will have more problems and possible glaucoma in the future. We know we must let this surgeon do the surgery, but we're not prepared for the outcome. Keep sweet baby Tate in your prayers. (I haven't told many people about this since I was so overwhelmed - sorry if you're reading about it and I didn't tell you personally.)

Thursday 7/10 was the 1st viewing. It was very hard on TBD. I took the twins and joined him. That seemed to make him feel a little bit better. Everyone was excited to see them. Need to mention that Mrs. G stopped by our house while we were away and left lots of goodies for us. Chocolate chip muffins, brownies and my fav - a Texas sheet cake! Thanks to the G's for being so sweet!

Friday 7/11 was the full day of viewing. My parents and sister came to our house and my sister Kristy helped me get the twins ready. While we were running around our house, my mother in laws sister Helen and husband Joe came by (they were to follow us the the funeral home). They had this lady with them and I thought to myself, this must be one of their nieces (she looks very young for her age...I need to know her secret). Once inside my home, she announced "I'm the other sister". I was shocked but happy to meet her. She brought me a cake. My mother in law hasn't seen or spoken to her in over 20 years. At the funeral home, they hugged and acted like it was just yesterday that they had last saw each other. I think they've both forgotten why they were mad in the first place. Anyway, at least something good came from this...family has come together. I'm looking forward to getting to know her better and spending holidays with her. Teresa (that's her name) just lost her husband 6 months ago. Maybe Marie (m-in-law) can get close to her sister again since they are both going through the same thing.

Happy Mommy and her family met us at the funeral home. We had a nice get together at Marie's apartment clubhouse and ate some great food during the break (another viewing that evening).

One good thing about the day - it was my niece Daisy's birthday. We had cake and gave her a few presents that evening. She was so cute and excited but kept reminding me "this isn't my party". She's such a sweet girl and we love little Daisy May to pieces!

Saturday 7/12 was the funeral in Baltimore. Happy Mommy and Kristy watched our kids while we were away. Another freaky friday moment - my father in law's (Ernie) twin brother Franklin was there! They hadn't seen or spoken in about 20 years as well. It was very surreal because they are identical twins! His hair was shorter and he doesn't were oxygen but the voices were the same. It was nice of him to be there and I'm happy I got to meet him. He even came to lunch with us after and it was like Ernie was there....I kept hearing him talk over all the conversation and I kept turning to see..they sound so much alike.

Things are back to somewhat normal around here except TBD is in Charleston SC on a business trip. I hope he thinks about work while he's away and doesn't keep thinking about last week. I don't know how he's supposed to feel. I just know it must be awful to lose your father...something I'm not looking forward to in the future but something I've been thinking a lot about this past week.

I'm going to try to start posting a lot more often. Thanks to Happy Mommy for posting a "fro me to you" tribute to my father in law last week.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 33

2008-07-03T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy lately (taking babies to the pool) and haven't had the time to blog.

However, I can never miss Thursdays edition of "Sincerely Fro Me to You". I found this picture of myself at my mom's house the last time I was there for a visit. It's a photo taken of me on

10/4/98 - I turned 34 almost 2 weeks later. This photo represents a totally different me from who I am now. I had no idea how much my life would change. I won't get into that now...not enough time!! My hair is naturally curly but the red was a phase that I went through for about 8 years...now I'm back to my original brunette color. Many people thought I was a natural red head since I have ~~sun damage~~ so many freckles! Did I mention that I used to be "scarf girl"? I wore a scarf all the time and this was my signature way to tie it - so original don't you think?

For more walks down memory lane, head on over to Kristen's site "we are THAT family" and enjoy!

The Nose Knows

2008-06-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-16T07:10:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-06-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-06-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-06-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-05T05:42:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-06-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

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.

May 23, 2008 ~ Another Special Anniversary

2008-05-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this before we left for our family vacation to Florida (we're here with Happy Mommy's family) but time got away from me! One year ago we brought our sweet baby boy Tate home from the NICU. He was there for 94 days! We loved bringing him home to be with his sister but we quickly realized that we had it very easy for the two weeks that it was just one baby at home. The first picture was taken on 5/23/07 and the second was taken on 5/23/08. Again, what a difference a year makes!

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 10

2008-05-22T01:15:00.000-07:00

Ok....I found this photo on my cousin Todd and Tania's website Camp Meixner and I stole it! I'm the one on the far right. I don't recognize who's house I'm at but know this was Christmas 1974. I think my mom even made my dress...lovely right? Featured in this picture are my cousins. Stacy (my cousin bloodsister) is to the left and next is her brother Andy, Mark w/the glasses and Todd in front. Todd and Tania are twice blessed just like me. For more "Fro me to you" photos, check out
we are THAT family's website and enjoy!!

Idol Recap

2008-05-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of you think that sweet baby boy David Archuleta should win but I strongly disagree! I think David Cook rocked it last night and he deserves to win. He has more versatility where as David A. seems to only like ballads and bubble gum songs. Anyway, I vote for David C tonight! Have fun Snickollet and Giovanna at your Idol party..wish I could join you for a sangria but will be busy packing for my family vacation!

Jessica Graduates!

2008-05-16T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's off to VCU tomorrow morning to see our niece Jessica graduate. She got a 4.0 this semester! We are so proud and love her very much . She's moving back home next week and we're praying she gets the job of her dreams. (This picture was taken the day she received her cap and gown.)

I'm very excited that she'll be around this summer and we can spend some time with her. Hopefully she'll come and help me take the babies to the pool..hint hint. I don't know how I'm going to master 2 babies at the pool but I'm sure I'll figure it out somehow. I know that the sun is so bad for me but am excited that I get to actually see the sun this summer. Last summer I was consumed with having 2 new babies at home and was told not to take them around large crowds etc, etc.

Next Friday, it's off to the beach to meet Happy Mommy and family in Ft. Lauderdale..we're all very excited about this vacation. I hope my husband can relax and not worry about work for a few days but that seems very unlikely. We're so glad he's bringing his laptop so we can both blog! How funny are we??

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 2

2008-05-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on October 6, 1966 and I was at my best friend Tammy Moyer's 3rd birthday party (I'm in the center). The reason I know this is because my mom wrote it on the back of the picture. I wonder what game we're playing or attempting to play? Don't I look like I'm having a great time? I wonder if I was upset that the other two girls standing beside me had on cuter shoes than me?....Probably!
I turned 2 myself one week later...not sure if I had my own party or not...if I did, I'm sure Tammy was invited! For more "Fro Me to You" pictures, visit "we are THAT family" and enjoy! Also, visit Happy Mommy for her latest pictures and cute story.

Idol Recap

2008-05-14T08:44:00.000-07:00

Here's my pick from last night~

1) David A - 1st song very good - 2nd song can't remember - 3rd song WHY?

2) Syesha - 1st song very good - 2nd song just ok - 3rd song not so much

3) David C - 1st song terrific! - 2nd song just ok - 3rd song better than David A and Syesha

I think pretty girl Syesha needs to start packing her bags! She will be wonderful on Broadway and I think she'd prefer that anyway.

Until next week and the battle of the Davids ~ can't wait!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

2008-05-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

This picture is for my Mom. It's a picture of her mother taken around 1985?? Not sure exactly when...but this is how I mostly remember my Grandma (not with a bear in her arms!!). I think she's at my cousin Stacy's house and I know it's at Christmas (tree gave it away). I just wanted my Mom to see this old photo so I hope that Happy Mommy shows her my post.

I love you Mom.

Another Anniversary

2008-05-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

(Top photo taken 5/9/07at 5 lbs and bottom photo taken 5/9/08 at 18.14 lbs)

Today is a very special day for our family. We brought Reese home one year ago today from her 80 day stint in the NICU. Reese and Tate were born on 2/19/07 at 25 weeks and 5 days gestation. She only weighed 1.8 lbs and Tate weighed in at 1.14 lbs. She was amazing in the NICU and only had a few typical preemie issues the first few weeks. We learned that both babies had ROP on 4/17/07. At that point, we had no idea of the severity.

So much has happened in the 1 year that our sweet baby girl has been home. She's such a happy baby but is going through a rough time right now with the schleral shell in her left eye and she's also cutting her 4th tooth. She's had a bad week. All she wants to do is sleep and rub her eyes.

I've had a rough few days myself. I woke up yesterday with what felt like a golf ball in the right side of my throat. By 1p, I was hot/cold and my entire body ached so bad I had to call TBDaddy home from work to help me out. I'm blessed with a very sweet and helping husband. He took off work today and has let me rest most of the day (did I mention that my in-laws are here?).

Just a few comparison photos ~ what a difference a year makes!

Fro Me to You

2008-05-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

I think I'm cheating on this carnival. I can't find the picture that I wanted to post for this so....I'm using an old picture of Happy Mommy. I think she was either 15 or 16 in this photo. (She's front left sitting down). It's of our cousins who she grew up with. How cute is she? Next Thursday, I'll try to figure out how to post a photo of my own! Thanks we are THAT family for the great idea.

(I tried to enter your fro pic but couldn't figure out how to do it!~Happy Mommy help me!)

I Stole this from Happy Mommy!

2008-05-08T08:11:00.001-07:00

Twice Blessed Mommy Wharhol!

Solong Jason Castro?

2008-05-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Here is my view on last night's American Idol ~

1) David Cooke - 1st song not so great / 2nd song great - definite top 3
2) Jason Castro - 1st song terrible / 2nd song even worse - bye bye
3) Syesha Mercado - 1st song really good / 2nd song ok - top 3
4) David Archuleta - 1st song great / 2nd song even better - top 3

I think it's time for pretty boy Jason Castro to depart! He hasn't done well at all in the past 3 weeks and if he wasn't so cute, he'd have been gone long ago.

I say solong Jason!

Reese Finally has a 3rd Tooth!

2008-05-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl finally got her 3rd tooth! This is a big deal people...she's only had 2 teeth for the past 3 months! It's her top left tooth. She has been severely cranky for the past week and now I know that's it was a combination of her eye and her tooth. The girl can't catch a break! If she'd let me take a picture of it I would but that's not going to happen! Maybe I can catch her while she's asleep.

Anyway, I'll be posting some photos of our lovely weekend in the country hopefully later tonight. We had a nice visit with my family. My dad turned 79 on Sunday and we had a party for him at Happy Mommy's house.... as a matter of fact, if you go to her website, you can see some photos of my Dad and babies.

We are going on vacation with Happy Mommy's family in less than 3 weeks. Happy M & D offered to watch our babies and let us go out on a date. TBD has already advised me that he wants to eat at "Don Shula's on the Beach". So, steak it is! I'm sure when we return from our date, my kids will have learned to drink from a straw, will have eaten regular food for dinner (no baby food) and probably know how to walk on their own! Once Happy Mommy gets ahold of them, there's no telling what else they'll be doing!

Oh Henry

2008-05-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

I always get in a funk on 2 May every year. It's the birthday of someone who was once very dear me, my high school boyfriend Henry Carl. He was the kind of guy who would run over to your house just to see you (he lived 6 miles away), cut the lawn for your dad and refuse to take any money (I always pocketed it..sorry Dad),write you love notes frequently and just always there being too nice. I was a little hard on him and not always very nice but he liked me just the same. That summer I decided that I wanted to brake up and date other guys, so we both moved on...sort of. He went to FL to get his act together and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. He was gone for 2 months when I heard the terrible news that he was killed in a car crash...we had just spoke a week earlier and planned to see each other when he came back to Ohio in the fall. I was simply crushed... I felt so guilty ~ why wasn't I nicer to him?..why couldn't I like him the way he liked me? why did he have to go to FL to figure things out? These are the questions I ask myself every year around this time. It's been 24 years since he died but I still think about him every once in awhile but especially on his birthday. It's just so sad... a life gone too soon.

Just Wanted to Share

2008-05-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

My niece Jessica took these pictures of Tate and Reese a few days ago and I wanted to share them with everyone. I don't know if you can tell how wavy Tate's hair is but it can get pretty wild some times. He's looking at Jessica's toes in his photo...he already has a foot fetish! I just had to show this picture of Milo sleeping next to Reese...they both look so cute! TBD is standing right next to Reese so no worries that she was left unattended for this photo op. Tate often falls asleep in his jumper and yes....my boy loves to suck his thumb!

She Was Robbed!!

2008-04-30T21:47:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I'm writing/venting about American Idol but here goes......

Jason Castro should've way been in the bottom 2 along with Syesha! I can't believe my girl
Brooke was sent home! She has so much personality and can sing so much better than the other 2. What a shame.... I have no doubt that this won't be the last we see/hear from miss Brooke.

I guess I shouldn't complain at all because..........I didn't even vote! Sorry Brooke.

One bright side ~ I know it's corny but I loved seeing Neil Diamond perform tonight.

My prediction ~ it will be the battle of the 2 Davids and I think that David Cooke will win (at least he should..he's the best of them all)!

Twice Blessed Daddy Thinks We Should Play the Lottery!

2008-04-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Some interesting ROP facts ~ Each year…

3,900,000 infants are born
28,000 are born under 2 ¾ pounds
15,000 get ROP
1,300 develop ROP requiring medical treatment
500 develop blindness

So, that’s 1 in 78,000 babies, or 1 in 56 preemies (under 3 pounds ) who develop blindness due to ROP.

Our odds are pretty good that we should buy a lottery ticket!!

LONG Weekend!

2008-04-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

I made the official mommy mistake of bragging at how well Reese was doing...bad idea.
She woke up on Friday and cried in pain unless she was being held by either myself or TBDaddy. All she wanted was to be held or to sleep. Also, she kept rubbing her right eye ~ weird (her left eye has the shell). This continued all day Saturday and Sunday. We finally broke down and removed the shell yesterday morning at 8am. I thought she would have a much better day but she acted exactly the same. Poor sweet girl...we felt so bad for her but also so conflicted about removing the shell. We made the decision that if she wasn't any better by Monday, we would just take it out...so, that's what happened.

Today is a little better but her eye is still very teary. After speaking with her ocularist, we made an appointment for her to see the opthomologist on Wednesday and then back to the ocularist on Thursday morning. I can tell that the shell was working and doing it's job in just a matter of days. Now that it is out, her left eye is closed even more so than before. I was told that is the case because her eyelid was starting to stretch to the shape of the conformer. We're praying that after she's checked out, we can start this all over (with a few adjustments to her shell) without any complications this time.

Some good news....Tate is officially sitting! I know I posted awhile back "Tate can Sit!" but it was really a one time event. Yesterday TBDaddy went into the nursery to get Reese and I heard him yell for me to come quick ~ that made me panic a bit! I got in the nursery and our sweet baby boy was sitting up in his crib playing with a toy and just smiled when he saw us. Again, where is my camera when I need it? Anyway I'm proud to announce that he continued to sit all day long and it was just way too cute! Yeah for Tate!

I'm looking forward to American Idol tonight and am excited that they are finally featuring Neil Diamond!! I just love that guy.

Reese After Her 1st Visit to Ocularist

2008-04-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Reese was the perfect patient today! The scleral shell went in very easily. After we got home, I realized that she had already removed it on her own! I was a little freaked. I tried to put it back in by myself but quickly realized that there needs to be a 2nd person present to hold her hands. After TBD got home from work, he held her down and I put it in..it was actually very easy I'm happy to say. She tried to rub her eye but we distracted her with food and she left it alone the rest of the night and fell right to sleep in her Daddy's arms. Please pray that she forgets all about it and leaves it alone for the next few weeks. I can already tell a difference but not sure if anyone else can yet. She goes back on 5/13 and then he starts working on her permanent shell. He tells us that we should be able to tell quite a difference within the next few weeks.

We met the Girls!

2008-04-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

The babies and I went with Twice Blessed Daddy to the dentist today. Our dentist and his staff are such wonderful people..they prayed for our babies the whole time they were in the NICU (and continue to pray for them now too). They were all so excited to see them today! We had a nice time showing them off.

Next we went shopping at the new Target Super Store. We loved it!! I'll tell you why..their carts are all plastic and were so cool. They even have about 15 carts that hold 2 babies in the front so you don't need to worry about a stroller. For this reason alone, I will start shopping there..besides, it's only 3 minutes away from the G's house...which brings me to the whole reason I wrote this post.

We met THE GIRLS tonight after our Target visit. We stopped by the G's and got to meet them. They were both very sweet and on their best behavior I'm told. They loved playing with Tate and Reese and helped to feed them their dinner too. It was so nice to finally meet them.
A is very outgoing and talkative and B is a little more shy and reserved. Although by the end of our visit, she was just as talkative as A. Sojung was our official photographer for the evening..
I'm hoping they'll post some photos of our visit. We had a very nice time and are looking forward to spending a lot more time with them this summer. And thanks Mrs G for the peanut butter brownie care package you sent home with us... One thing is for sure, you can always count on her for wonderful desserts!!

Prayer Request for Reese, Ronda and Noah

2008-04-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is a big day for our little Reese. She gets a conformer placed in her left eye. We're not really sure how they plan on doing this since she's so great at clinching her eye muscles to avoid anyone bothering her eye. We were not given any instructions on how to prepare for this...I think I'm going to give her some Motrin right before her appointment and hopefully it will calm her down a bit. This conformer is the first step for her to receive the schleral shell prosthesis. Hopefully she'll only have to wear it for a few weeks before the ocularist makes her permanent shell. This conformer is not supposed to cause her any pain..it's like wearing a contact lens. So, please pray for Reese!

My friend and neighbor Ronda is in Reno NV for her 5 week treatment for Lyme disease. I've read her blog and it sounds like she's been going through quite a bit this week. She is one of the nicest persons I've ever met and I just hate it that she's going through this. I can't imagine being away from my husband and child for 3-4 weeks..I know that is probably the hardest part of her treatment. I'm thankful that her baby girl is able to be with her and that she has good friends and family who are taking turns staying with her to help out with Raegan. So, please pray for Ronda!

Our nephew Noah suffers from Crones disease. He is going through a bout of it right now and is in the hospital. We found out tonight that his doctors made a mistake last month and cut his med prescription in half by accident...they think that is what brought on this episode. He's in quite a bit of pain and is on a morphine iv drip. We're just praying that his doctors can remedy the situation and get his meds back on track. He's only 21 and had been through a lot with this disease. So, please pray for Noah!

Busy Weekend!

2008-04-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

We kept very busy this weekend! Our Friday was spent at Babies R Us picking out umbrella
strollers, mats for our newly converted playroom (bye bye morning room) and new activity centers.

Saturday we took our french bulldog Milo to a dog park for his monthly frenchie meet up. The weather was so nice and he had a great time playing with all the other frenchies. He could really care less if there were other dogs there..he loves people and everytime I saw him, he was being petted by someone new. Once I got out the Cheerios to give to the babies, he came running because that's his new favorite snack food. As a matter of fact, I fed several of the frenchies Cheerios that day.

Once we got back home and fed the kids, we totally redid their new play area. We removed all of our things and now it's all baby stuff. The kids really love it too! They've been having such a good time playing with all their toys in there (forgot to mention it's now gated off from the kitchen).

On Sunday, we went to church and it was the 2nd time I took the babies to the nursery..of course I stayed in there with them again. Not sure when I'll feel comfortable to leave them. I know they'll be taken care of...just not ready yet!

Our friends the G's met their girls on Saturday! They then picked them up on Sunday and are bringing them home today! I'm sure they were very shocked at the sight of their new home ~ it's very large I must say. They were the topic of discussion all weekend. We admire them so much for opening their hearts and home to these little girls. We just know they'll be the perfect parents for them. Amen!

My little sleep fighter

2008-04-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that Reese flights sleep? Well lately we've been having a hard time getting her to go to bed at night..not to mention taking a nap during the day. Tate on the other hand, is just like his mama...LOVES to sleep! She's also been waking up in the middle of the night and crying either until she falls back to sleep (which usually happens) or I go and get her and take her to bed with us for fear she'll wake up her brother. I've been trying very hard to let her cry it out when she does this. It's very hard for me not to just go pick her up to comfort her but this hasn't been the best thing for either of us. When I end up taking her back to my room to sleep, I usually wake up with my back all in knots from adjusting the way I lay to accomodate her.

Anyway, last night she started crying around 3am and I let her cry for 10 minutes- thinking she'll cry herself back to sleep. Well she was getting louder and more hysterical so I run in her room and there she is...standing up in her bed!! Now this was a first. For about a week, she's been pulling up on our coffee table, her new kitchen and new piano (Mrs. G, she's almost ready for lessons!). So as you can imagine, this was a sight for me...how can you not pick up a baby standing in her crib??

I melted and almost ran for the camera..I know, not the best time for a photo op so I decided not to do that. I nabbed her and she snuggled up to me and was asleep before I was back in my bedroom..we both had a really good sleep after that. I'm taking the camera upstairs with me tonight just in case she does this again (I'm sure she'll be doing this quite often now)..hopefully, it will be in the morning and she'll be her usual happy sweet baby self.

Again, just wanted to share this first with everyone. We're experiencing a lot of firsts lately and will continue to do so for the next several months ~ did I say months?? I think I meant years!

Tate can sit!!

2008-04-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first time that Tate sat up on his own. He has an Occupational Therapist come and work with him once a month and she was here last Thursday. We worked on getting that sweet boy to sit up and crawl on all 4's. He commando crawls and is very good at keeping up with Reese who's been crawling really well for 2 weeks now.

He was rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and then went into a sit from there. I called Twice Blessed Daddy at work and gave him the news and we were both very excited. I've been working with him today to repeat but he doesn't seem too interested. That's ok..I'm sure he'll be a pro by the end of the week.

Some of you may be thinking..he's 14 months old and can't sit up yet? That's correct!
His adjusted/corrected age is only 10 months and his development is based on that.

Just wanted to share the news on sweet baby boy Tate!

I won!!

2008-04-14T07:31:00.000-07:00

I won Happy Mommy's Meme contest!! I can't say "I never win anything" because I've been quite fortunate in my life at winning contests. The biggest win I ever had was on 10/28/96. It happened to be 1 day before Happy Mommy eloped but that's another story.

I was getting ready for work and my phone rang. It was a local radio station telling me that I was the winner of the Lynnhaven Mall giveaway called "Come see our new look and win some great stuff". I thought it was a prank. My boyfriend was in Las Vegas at the time with some of his friends and I thought it was one of them pulling my leg.

After I sort of argued with the guy (I almost hung up on him), I remembered going to the mall a week earlier and seeing this big house that they built in the middle of the mall loaded with gifts to be given away..I did put my name in the drawing. Long story short, I won $50,000 worth of cash and prizes.

Here's a list of some of the goods..the ones I can remember 12 years later anyway;
1) $10,000 mall money
2) hot tub
3) pool table - sold it for $1000
4) free groceries for a year
5) $1000 gc to mall jeweler (I added some mall $ and bought 2carrot diamond tennis bracelet)
6) car - manual Hundai w/no extras - sold it for $8000
7) 36 inch Hitachi tv
8) Gateway computer
9) daily newspaper for 1 year
10) security system
11) Tiger Shark jet ski
12) $1000 worth of flooring
13) free paint from Norfolk Paints
14) Conti's mountain bike
15) $500 Clinique make up
16) tuxedo
17) Laser eye surgery - had rk done to both eyes 1 week later!! best gift of all!
18) water purifier
19) queen size bed, dresser and 2 nightstands
20) embroidered blanket saying "Lynn Haven Mall" on it

There were 26 prizes in all and I can't think of the last 6 for the life of me. Well that's my "big win" story. Thanks to Happy Mommy for drawing my name and making me another big winner!

One year anniversary

2008-04-12T20:22:00.001-07:00

I realized today that it was a year ago yesterday, 4/11, that I held my babies at the same time for the first time. Reese had been moved a week earlier from room 204 to room 201 which was a step down room in our NICU. Tate was just next door in room 202. They hadn't been together since they were born and we so wanted them to be in the same room. Tate's nurse was Connie that day (she was my favorite of T's nurses-she let me hold him the very first time) and she knew how much we wanted them to be together.

She surprised us that day and got permission from T's doctor to move him to room 201 to be right next to his little sister. We were so happy..they made such a big deal about this and we were thrilled. They gathered some of T and R's other nurses around. They got me and TBD in our gowns, sat us in a chair and gave me Tate first and then Reese and then started taking our pictures. Then it was Daddy's turn to hold them. We all laughed, smiled and cried because it was such a blessing to witness. It was an answer to prayer that our babies were finally together again.

I just wanted to share my memories of such a wonderful day!!

Reese Loves Pancakes!

2008-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl did great yesterday. Her doctor was very pleased with her retinas-no changes since last Novembers EUA. When the nurses brought her back to us, they told us to watch her closely all day and that she may sleep a little longer/deeper than usual. NO...she was up all day and didn't even take her nap. I don't know what they spiked her gas with but it had the reverse effect on her. By 630p she was very cranky but still wouldn't sleep..she's such a sleep fighter.

Anyway, after we left the hospital, we went for breakfast to one of our favorite diners. Twice Blessed Daddy ordered the pancakes and Reese was very interested in them. So, she had pancakes for the very first time and loved them. Poor Tate had oatmeal w/pear juice and peach yogurt...he really missed out! He stayed home with Aunt Cindy who was amazed at what a happy baby he is.

I got my haircut today and met up with Mrs G who was doing the same. We've been meeting every 4 weeks at Ty's (our hairdresser) for our monthly cut and color. It was nice to
talk to her about her girls. She showed me new pictures and they are so pretty.

We had our family over this afternoon for a Birthday BBQ for my father in law. It was nice to relax and let my husband run the show. Our niece Jessica is in town for the weekend and she came over early to help with the babies so I could go get my hair cut. I'm happy to say that she never lets me down...she always comes over when she's home to visit with the babies. We're very blessed that she loves them and wants to spend time with them.

Until next time...

Pray for Reese

2008-04-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our daughter Reese is having a minor procedure on her eye tomorrow morning at 730a. We have to be at the hospital by 6a. I'm asking anyone who reads this to pray for my baby girl.
She has micropathalmia (underdeveloped eye) in her left eye due to complications from a preemie eye disease called ROP (retinopothy of prematurity). She is finally being fitted for a schleral shell which is a prosthetic contact that she'll wear the rest of her life. She's such a pretty little girl and we're very happy that her right eye will now look the same as her left. Please pray for her and the doctors who are giving her the EUA (exam under anesthesia). I'll explain more about ROP in future posts since my son Tate also suffers from residual ROP.

So Happy for Twice Blessed Mommy 2

2008-04-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is my first post and it was going to be about our family..but - my dear friend has the best news and I wanted to share. Mrs. G has been waiting for such a long time to be a mommy and her dream is finally coming true..like next Saturday. The G's are adopting 2 beautiful sisters (that happen to look just like Mrs. G). They got the call to come and get them on the 19th!! This is so exciting for them.. I'm just over the moon happy. Reese and Tate will have 2 new babysitters! I just wanted to say that God answered their prayers and now she's a Twice Blessed Mommy just like me.