Thanksgiving Day

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.

Sincerely Fro Me to You ~ Age 40 with Happy Mommy

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!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

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 ~ Father in Law

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!

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.

Eye Appointments - and then Some

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

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

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

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

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

Keeping it in the Family

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

Happy Father's Day!

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

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

What Father's Day gift did you give?

Fro Me to You

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!)

Reese Finally has a 3rd Tooth!

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!