I'm Glad They're Mine Too

2009-05-12T10:43:00.002-06:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I last posted!

I can't believe that the kids are almost out of school! There are 3 weeks left! On one hand, I'm ready for Kalynn to be out. She's really difficult to get out of bed. On the other hand, I'm going to have all 3 kids! I'm not sure about my neighbors. I was watching my friend Mandy's kids but she got laid off. She's looking for another job right now. I'm still watching my friend Michelle's daughter though. Not sure what we're going to do for the summer..

Kalynn has a neuropsychologist appointment this June. I'm curious to see where we're at..

The boys are being toddlers I guess. They're very mischevious. Today, I went to the bathroom while they were eating breakfast. Ronin got out of his highchair, and unrolled an entire roll of paper towels. Then, I changed a dirty diaper when the phone rang. I didn't have time to put the diaper in the pail. I come back, not even 2 minutes later, and the boys are playing in the dirty diaper. So, you can imagine the mess I had to clean up. That was just today! I am just amazed at the difference with having twin toddlers. SO much differerent than Kalynn was. It is really fun but it's really challenging too.

On to a different subject..I've lost about 5 lbs. I guess that's good for one month. I have continued to run. One day each week, I do a "long" run where I'm increasing my mileage. Last week was my 5 mile run. This week is another 5 mile run. Next week is my 6 mile run..

Anyway, I guess I better go..I'm going to go eat my lunch!

2009-04-18T09:36:00.002-06:00

The week has been ok.. Kalynn developed this pimple looking thing on her ear. It started getting really red and very painful. You couldn't even look at her ear without her flinching..So, I took her to the doctor this past Friday. She said shingles. I'm not entirely convinced that it's shingles. She asked me if they looked like blisters. I told her it looked like a pimple. To me, a pimple and a blister look different. I looked at pictures and it doesn't look like shingles...Just a warning, this is pretty gross. The "pimple" would get bigger and would fill with pus. If you even just touched it, it would break and it would bleed quite a bit..So, I'm not really convinced it's shingles. But she's got an antiviral cream and some antibiotics. Her ear looks a little better, and it's not hurting her. So whatever it is, it's getting better.

On to a less gross subject, I have been getting more serious about losing weight.. I haven't weighed myself in 6 months, but I knew I was gaining weight. My "fat" pants were getting tighter..So, I finally weighed myself. I'm not where I started 3 years ago before I lost that 60 lbs but I'd get there soon if I didn't put a stop to it.. So, I decided to do WW's again. I can't afford to do the online or the meetings, so I'm doing it on my own. There are websites that can help. I've also decided to get more serious about running..What helped me before was to set a goal for myself. So, I've decided that in 6 months, I want to run a half marathon (13.1 miles). I've run about 11 miles this week.

Anyway, I'm about to take Kalynn to Mommy and Kalynn time..

2009-04-10T10:43:00.002-06:00

We got the results from their MRI's!

Kalynn: No change in her plexiform or her optic glioma!! The Dr. said that she's getting to the age where if the tumors haven't changed by now that they probably will not change. So, one more year for the MRI and then I think we can stop doing them every year! Yay!!

Ryker: No tumors or anything. He does have something called "stigmata of NF" which are bright spots on his brain. She said that they don't cause anything, they're just there and people with NF have these.

So both kids are doing well! Fortunately, we didn't have to stay for very long. We were home by the early afternoon.

Besides that, things are going well!

Kalynn's art work was chosen for the Youth Art Expo for Ellis County a few weeks ago. I had received this notice in her folder from school and I had no clue what it was about. I thought maybe all the kids got one. It was that following Friday so we went. Apparently, it was ALL schools of Ellis County. I didn't realize that there was so many submissions! Kalynn ended up getting "Honorable Mention". I'm so proud of her! Her art work will also be at the Educational Showcase (something like that). Not sure what that is. But after that, we'll get it back. Kalynn was excited to get a ribbon LOL

The boys are doing well. Just being toddlers LOL

I have lots of pictures posted in my Facebook album!

2009-03-29T12:41:00.003-06:00

It's Sunday! Almost Monday again. I can't believe it's almost April.

Kalynn and Ryker had their MRI's on Friday. Holy crap, what a nightmare. Kalynn and Ryker coulnd't have anything to eat that morning. So we tried to get Ronin up a bit earlier so we could feed him. Didn't want to eat. We had no other choice but to leave without him eating.

We get to the van and the van won't start. I'm freaking out and trying to get the carseats out so we can take Camry. Fortunately, it was just the battery so Bill jumped the van.

We got there just in time. We go to a waiting room, and then another waiting room. We're finally called and wait in a recovery room. We decided to let Kalynn go first because she was getting cranky and whiny because she hadn't gotten anything to eat. Of course, we still had to wait for the nurses to come in and give her the IV. Then we had to wait for about an hour for her to be done with her MRI. Ronin by this time was getting quite aggravated. At one point, he was screaming and crying. We tried everything we could to get him to settle down. He was hungry and cranky. I finally get him out of the room and get him something to eat and drink. But he wanted to be with his Bubba. I didn't want him in the room since Ryker can't have anything to eat. Finally let him back in the room.

Ryker's turn for the IV. Kalynn gets wheeled in and Ryker gets wheeled out. Kalynn wakes up more cranky and hungry. Ronin and Kalynn were just having meltdowns. It just wasn't fun at all. Ryker's MRI took over an hour because they had to both head and spine.

Finally able to leave. We were in the hospital for five hours! It was just frustrating for everyone.. By the next day, everything was back to normal.

Yesterday (Saturday) Kalynn and Bill went fishing. It was Guy and Me through Girl Scouts. Kalynn has been DYING to go fishing since last year. So, I was glad that she finally got to go. They ended up leaving a bit early because it was so windy and cold. But I'm glad that they got to fish at least for a little bit.

This coming up week, nothing really is going on. We have a Girl Scout meeting though. We're supposed to be taking the donated GS cookies to a children's house. Not sure if we're able to go or not.

BTW, I have pictures on my Myspace page and on my Facebook page.

2009-03-22T20:34:00.002-06:00

Spring break is over. Sorta happy. It'll be nice to get back to our usual routine.

Didn't really do much over spring break. This weekend, we did have a garage sale. Bill started on Monday cleaning out our garage. It was BAD. You couldn't walk in there. But we threw away a lot of stuff. I'm guessing we had over 20 bags of trash.

That weekend, we had a garage sale. We still had lots of baby stuff. We did pretty well. Got rid of a lot of stuff. I can't believe how cheap some people are! But overall, it went well. Our garage has space now. We can get to our freezer!

This coming up Friday, Kalynn and Ryker have MRI's. They both have to be sedated..They're doing a head MRI on Kalynn, and head and spine on Ryker. Ryker has a pilonidal cyst that the doctor is concerned about, so that's why we're doing a spinal too.

Saturday, Bill and Kalynn have Guy and Me with Girl Scouts. This year it's fishing at Joe Pool. Kalynn has been wanting to go fishing for a long time, ever since last Summer.

Ryker has been cracking me up! He knows what the Geico commercials are. When a Geico commercial comes on, he says "Geico!". Well, I think he thinks the gecko (and lizards) are called Geico. Kalynn caught a lizard and Ryker said "Geico!" LOL At least I know where he got that from. Ronin calls cats "Lala". I have NO clue where Ronin got "lala" from cat.

Ok, I must go..I need to fix Kalynn's blankets

2009-03-05T13:47:00.003-06:00

Holy crap, I haven't updated in a month!

Let's see.. For the past month or so, I've been taking care of sick kids. Mandy's kids were sick this past January, they were out for a week or so. Then Kalynn got sick with the flu (type B) and was out for 4 days. Ryker got it, but was better after 3-4 days. Then Kalynn got the flu AGAIN (type A) and was sick for 3-4 days. And now Ronin's sick with a stomach virus. Poor baby has a diaper rash.. I am SO ready for all these sickies to go away. And I am SHOCKED that I haven't gotten anything. Bill hasn't either.

Girl Scout cookie sales are over!! YAY!! Thanks to those who helped out, I really appreciate it. We turn in all the $$ tonight and I am done with it. I can't believe how much work is involved with that!

Ryker had his 6 month evaluation for ECI (Early Child intervention, for kids 0-3 that have delays, etc). He has progressed nicely! He is 28 months and tested for motor skills and speech at almost 24 months. That is GREAT progress for him! He's learned so many words over the past few months and is just now putting 2 words together (like want eat). He's right on target for social and adaptive.

We have Spring break in a couple of weeks. I'll have my 3 kids along with the 3 kids I watch alllll day.

Also, my cousin had her twin girls! She had them at 35 weeks. They were 4 lbs 15 oz and 5 lbs 12 oz (coincidentally, very close to my boys' weights!). Very happy for her but at the same time, glad I'm past the newborn stage with my boys LOL The first few months were just chaotic and crazy. That first year was a blur. But nevertheless, I love having twins and having twins is such an awesome experience. Thrilled that she gets to experience that too!

Anyway, I guess that's all what's been going on the past month. Nothing too exciting!

2009-01-18T18:31:00.003-06:00

Hello!! We've had a busy week!

Last week was the start of Girl Scout cookies! We went in our neighborhood and sold some cookies. For the most part, people were gracious and nice, whether they bought them or not. We have a few more streets to go down. Kalynn did well for the most part. She was a little shy at first, but I think she's getting the hang of it..

Yesterday we met my friend Naomi, Chad and their clan at Grapevine Mills Mall. It was nice seeing them again! I wish we could get together more often than we do, but I know it's hard. The more kids you have, it seems like it's harder to get out, or at least with us it is..

Tomorrow, the kids are off. I need to run an errand for Girl Scouts.

Before I go, I wanted to add to my Twin Myths blog entry.
Apparently, the father's side CAN influence twins if a female member of his family had fraternal twins. For example (and this is purely hypothetical), if Bill's mom had fraternal twins. Bill could pass the hyper-ovulation gene down to Kalynn and Kalynn could get pregnant with twins. But, this has no bearing on whether Bill would have twins or not

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/4910.html

Twin Myths

2009-01-14T14:01:00.003-06:00

I decided to do a post about twin myths. Seems like everyday, I see something about someone wondering if they're pregnant with twins because their husband has twins on his side, it skips a generation, or that if twins are in separate sacs, that they are automatically fraternal

Myth: Twins skip a generation
Fact: Dizygotic or two-egg twinning passes down the female line from generation to generation
http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bmultiples/0,,43wt,00.html

Myth: You can't possibly nurse twins:
Fact: I'm living proof that you can absolutely nurse twins. Yes, it can be challenging (we dealt with nipple confusion, refusal to latch) but with support, you can do it!
Books to read: "Mothering Multiples" by Karen Gromada

Myth: Since husband has twins on his family, you're more likely to have twins:
Fact: Identical twins are just a "fluke" and fraternals happen when the mother releases two eggs, which the father has no bearing on
http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=86

Myth: If babies are in separate sacs and have separate placentas, they are fraternal:
Fact: About 30% of babies that are in their own sacs and placentas are identical. Only way to tell for certain is a DNA test:
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/ateaf/1027002?open

I hope that clears up some up of the common twin myths, which, before I had twins, I bought into as well.

Speaking of twins, mine are awake!

2009-01-11T12:48:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since I've been on here! I've been so busy!!

Overall, things have been going well. New Years Eve was great. We went to our neighbor's house and hung out.

I mentioned my brother in my previous post. He had surgery NYE and all went well. In fact, the news was great! There is no other cancer anywhere else. I am just so grateful that it was caught so early. I had heard on the news that more than half don't catch it early and by then, it's too late. It just makes you think about things. Stephan had no risk factors. He didn't drink, smoke or chew. Yet, he still got oral cancer. It just doesn't make any sense. But it just hit so close to home that it makes me realize that I need to take charge of my own health.

The past few weeks, I have been very very busy. I have been planning a surprise birthday party. He turned 40 on 1/8. I wanted to make it special so I thought a surprise party would be fun. I rented a room at the Midlothian Conference center. I saved up my $$ and some of my family were generous to help out as well, which I very much appreciated.

It was very difficult because I had to do everything behind Bill's back. It's hard to do that since I live with him! I had to pay everything in cash because I didn't want Bill to see our account and say "What's this check for??"

I am very grateful to my friends and family who helped me pull it off!! I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it, but we did!

Bill's expression was priceless! He really had no idea! A friend of his that he hasn't seen in about 2 1/2 years was there. Lots of family and friends were there.

My friend Kim did a slideshow of his life. It was so good! The end was hilarious!

I'm just glad it's over! That was a lot of work! I don't think I realized how much work it was going to be!

2008-12-26T13:25:00.004-06:00

I hope everyone had a good Christmas!!

It's been crazy around here! Last Friday, we took Kalynn to my mom's house. And I wasn't expecting the traffic to be so bad. We ended up only going out to eat. We got home around 9ish and I went to Walmart after we got home.

We've been very busy the past week. I've been babysitting my neighbor's kids since they're out of school. So, I had 6 kids here the past week (and this coming up week).

Now onto Christmas..
Christmas was great. I just love watching the kids opening up their presents and just seeing the look in their eyes! We went to my mom's house and then my aunt's house. The boys didn't get a nap so they were quite cranky. They did pretty darn well for not having a nap. They woke up around 7-7:30am. Got home and the kids played for a bit.. Unfortunately, the boys have a bit of a cold..

Bill's nephew is going to be here in a few hours..

Here is a link of my Christmas album on shutterfly
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=06da9f3af5ff52b02f762628e38c6d8e&sid=9AZNGTFi4atT-

On a serious note:
I also got some news about my brother Stephan (for those who don't know). My brother Stephan got diagnosed with tongue cancer. There was a sore on his tongue that wouldn't go away. My FIL is an ENT so Bill called him to see if there was someone good he could see. Bill Sr got Stephan an appt with an expert on this in San Antonio. He had a CAT scan and fortunately, it is very small. He is going to have it removed next Wed, so any thoughts and/or prayers would greatly be appreciated.

2008-12-14T18:49:00.001-06:00

Evening!! Had a good rest of the week!

I can't believe Christmas is so close! Busy week ahead. Ryker has therapy twice this week, and I have 3 Christmas parties to go to.

Friday, my mom will have Kalynn. Our neighbors will watch the boys for us, so Bill and I can go Christmas shopping. We have quite a bit to get.

The first week of babysitting went well. Next week, I'll have all 3, but the boys aren't too bad at all. Kalynn and Ava bicker quite a bit, but we'll deal. Plus, Bill will be off.

BTW, I upl0aded some pics on Myspace and Facebook if anyone's interested.

2008-12-10T13:15:00.002-06:00

It's time for my weekly update! LOL

First, I have a paying gig! I'm babysitting my neighbor's kids. Her daughter's 3, I keep her all day and then her 2 boys, 6 and 8 after they come home from school. I have 6 kids for an hour LOL Sure makes my house seem tiny!

For a split second, I thought that it would be nice to have more kids..Then that thought quickly disappeared. I'd love to have more kids, but for one, my tubes are tied and for two, we can't afford it..

Last week went pretty good. We went to see Santa on Saturday. It was at the local Walmart and you got a FREE 5x7! We got there and there was not even a line. SWEET! The one at the mall is better but can't beat free and no crowds!

Next week will be a bit busy. Ryker has therapy appointments, school and Girl Scout parties and I think that's it. Mom will be taking Kalynn next weekend so we'll be able to finish up our Christmas shopping..

I guess that's all I have to say for now!

2008-12-04T13:13:00.003-06:00

Can't believe it's already Thursday! So ready for Friday.

This week has been ok.

Monday was therapy. That evening was the parade. It would start at and end at Walmart. It went well! We only live about 5 min away so I planned on leaving at 5:20, and finding the float. Well, I didn't realize that the Walmart would be packed because of everyone trying to get to the parade. We were stuck in a long line forever seemed like. Kalynn and I just got out of the car while we were still in line. Found our float just in time! It was really cold. The route was 1 1/2 miles so the walking kept us warm. Kalynn got to ride in the float. The parade was much bigger than it was last year!

Tuesday was therapy for Ryker

Wed, we went to go open our Girl Scout Troop's banking account. That was an experience. Ryker was just pitching fits and just being 2 I guess. A few people asked about the boys and asked if they were twins. An older gentleman said that he was a twin himself, he has a twin sister. Another older gentleman had 24 year old grandsons. All of the comments were very sweet., about how cute they were.

Today is our Girl Scout meeting. It's almost GS cookie time!!

Onto another topic. Ryker had his swallow study done. We got the official report and it says he is diagnosed with Dyspaghia, which what mom said, just means he has difficulty swallowing. Didn't know there was a name for it! We're doing oral motor with him, so hopefully that will help.

2008-11-30T21:09:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! Ours went very well. Went to my dad's house first. Then went to my mom's house. The boys did surpringly well for not having any naps.

While at my mom's house, Ronin started crying as if he was in pain. Finally figured out it was his wrist. I think Kalynn and Ronin were rough housing. We were about to take him to the ER but as time went on, his was using it more.

Didn't do anything Friday. Had a cookout at our neighbor's house on Saturday. Today (Sunday) I had to go help decorate the float for the parade. Kalynn and her troop will be in the parade.

While I was helping with the float, Bill and the kids went to our friend's little girl's birthday party. It's at this bounce place here in town. While I was gone, Bill said that Ronin climbed up this tall slide and slide down it by himself! Then he went into some obstacle course dealie by himself! Ryker loved the slide too! He laid on his back and slid and he giggled all the way down. They were really enjoying themselves! Ronin had a fit when it was time to leave.

I can't believe the week is already over. Tomorrow back to the grind. It's kind of nice getting back into our routine. But at the same time, it was nice getting a break when Bill was here. Now, just 3 more weeks til Christmas!

2008-11-25T13:48:00.003-06:00

Lots to update! Sorry I've been MIA, will explain that in a sec.

Last week, Bill's brother andnephew came to stay with us for a couple of days. They left Thursday..

Thursday, our computer was messed up. We'd boot it up and it'd be a black screen, and it'd say "enter password". He called that day, got the return box Friday. We tried shipping it yesterday,but Bill missed the guy by a couple of minutes. So hopefully, they'll pick it up today soon.

That day was also Girl Scouts. We have our Christmas parade this year, in case anyone is interested.. It's Dec 1, here in town..

Yesterday, Ryker had his swallow study. We had one done because he was choking on juice and on food that wasn't cut up small. They strapped him in a chair, and fed him food covered in barium. He had no problems with the barium. Anyway, they found that his chewing is uncoordinated..His tongue doesn't go around, he'll chomp on it until it dissolves and then swallows it. He also swallows before he's ready if that makes sense. So, now the OT knows what to work on and she'll give me some things to do with him too.

I'm excited about Thanksgiving! I really enjoy spending time with family..

Anyway, that's pretty much it for right now

Girl Scout Camp out

2008-11-16T08:08:00.002-06:00

Obviously, since I am writing this blog at 8am, I didn't stay LOL

Overall the camp out was really fun! I ended up getting lost. I thought I turned on the right street but I ended up getting more into the boondocks. Fortunately, one of the moms was already there so her and her husband helped me find my way back.

The camp itself was really neat! Here's the camp we stayed at, and we were at Fort Texas (scroll all the way to the bottom)
http://www.hoblitzelle.com/Accommodations.htm

We stayed inside that wooden fort.

When we got there, I went ahead and acted like we were going to stay. I still was waffling. Set up the tent, got all of our gear in the tent.

We did the flag ceremony, and we had our investiture ceremony for all the new Girl Scouts and leaders.

After that we did our scheduled activities. There was an obstacle station, a first aid station and an "orienteering" station. I had NO idea what that was until yesterday! The girls learned how to read a compass. They took some simple directions (go west, 10 steps) to find a treasure, which was a bag of candy. The girls LOVED that.

We had about an hour and a half until dinner, so we went to a nearby park and played for a bit.

Headed back and had dinner. We had 2 of those Coleman stoves which was nice. We had hotdogs, frito pie and quesadillas. Dinner was actually pretty good.

Hung out until our egg drop game. We had to come up with a way to keep our egg (that we named Charlie) from breaking. We used a bowl with yarn and cotton balls. Kalynn was chosen to go up the stairs and drop it. She was so nervous. I think she felt that if the egg broke, that it would be her fault, which of course, wouldn't be. She dropped it and it was ok!

After that some of the troops did skits. It was too funny! One of the troops did a "fashion show". They did a "P" coat, which was one of their coats with the letter "P" on it. They did a doll dress which this girl wore a dress with dolls attached to it. YOu get the picture LOL

After that we did a bon fire, and smores. We had an award ceremony where our troop won "Cleanest Camp Site" and 2nd place in the Egg Drop.

By that time, the temps have dropped. We were FREEZING!!! I don't think we were well prepared, so I decided to go ahead and go. I felt SOOOOO bad because Kalynn really wanted to stay. But we ARE going to go camping again..

We got home around 9ish..Probably half of the girls left.

2008-11-14T07:50:00.003-06:00

Molly, OH I agree. Which is why I didn't really think much of it when she did that. I thought she was just being difficult, and doing the whole selective seeing thing. Just being a kid LOL But, looking back, she's done it with toys, etc. It all makes sense, since she has so many problems with reading, and writing. Ryker's OT was a lot more helpful than the diagnostician at Kalynn's school. In fact, I thought she was a bit rude. But next time Bill will be going with me since he's a special ed teacher too.

I'm still not sure if we're going to stay the night at the camp out tomorrow night. For one, Kalynn may not go since her behavior hasn't been the best at school. If she doesn't go, I will still go but will leave at 10. I was watching the news and it's supposed to be COLDER!!

I need to get a few things:
-borrow sleeping bag from Mandy
-get red sweat shirts for me and Kalynn
-maybe thermal underwear?
-clean out ice chest (I just lost the word for it..is it ice chest??)
-get batteries for the flash light

I think that's it..

2008-11-13T19:58:00.002-06:00

I love Ryker's OT! I asked her about Kalynn and she explained to me what everything meant so everything makes sense!

As I said in my previous post, she has trouble with visual closure and visual discrimination. She explained with visual closure, it's hard for her to look at a word, for example, with missing letters, and know what that word is. For example, she woulld have trouble with c_t in the hat, is cat in the hat. "Normal" brains can fill in the missing letters..

Visual discrimination is where she can't tell between different words. Her teacher said she reads "not" as "in' and "in" as "not". She also gave the example of asking a child to get a spoon on a table with other stuff on it. A child with problems with visual discrimination can't see it.

I noticed that she does have trouble with things like that. For example, I asked her to put her shoes up. Her shoes were on the floor, and of course, our floor has toys, etc on it. She couldn't see it. She'd pass right by it and not see it. I really thought she was just pulling my leg or just being difficult. But after the OT explained that, I don't think she saw her shoes.

She also said that this is VERY common in kids with ADHD. Next time I see her, she's going to give me ideas on how to help her.

2008-11-08T13:43:00.002-06:00

This week was overall, pretty good.

Thursday was a bit busy. We had an ARD, and honestly, I'm not sure what to make of it. I think most of you know that Kalynn is in special ed under OHI ( NF1) and speech impairment. She is receiving Speech and Occupational therapy for her handwriting. Any time you want to add a service, you have to have an ARD (Admission, Review, Dismissal), which is a meeting with the diagnostician, gen ed teacher, special ed teacher and an administrator (VP or principal) .

Anyway, I was concerned with her reading. She told me that the words swirl and then disappear. They asked me to get her eyes checked but I can't see the opthamologist until Feb. So, from what I understand, there isn't much we can do until we know what's going on. If it's her vision, we can have someone with Region X (they work with the vision impaired) work with her.

The OT did a visual perception test, and I'm still not quite understanding what it all means and how it impacts her reading. Here's an excerpt from it:

OK, can anyone explain what this test is? This is what the report says:

"...designed to assess ability to recognize and visualize an object or shape without having to reproduce it, evaluates spatial relationships, visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure and visual memory. At chronological age 6 yr 2 mo, Kalynn's perceptual age was 4 yr 10 mo

Kalynn had the most difficulty with visual closure and visual discrimination.
That is trying to see the whole picture from parts and discrimination what is different. This is usually seen in school with reading and math skills."

After that ARD meeting, we had our Girl Scout meeting. Our camp out is next weekend. It's been ages since I went camping. We're going to be sleeping in tents. On the hard ground. In the cold. Since I'm co leader, I have to be there, so I can't chicken out LOL I think it'll be fun though.. Kalynn's excited.

Anyway, I guess that's it!

2008-11-03T12:32:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon!

We had a good weekend!

Friday was Halloween. We went TOT'ing downtown. It was crowded. It seemed more crowded than last year! The kids got a ton of candy. We got lots of comments on the boys, because, of course, they were very cute! Kalynn went to her first haunted house. She has been bugging me to go to one. I let Bill take her. Bill said she did really well! Kalynn liked it!

Me? I haven't been to a haunted house since I was 6 (I think I was 6). Mom took us to this haunted house and I remember there was this grave where this hand was sticking out. Anyway, I scared shitless and haven't been back since LOL

Our friends, Naomi and Chad, and their crew joined us. Kaia (her daughter that's the boys' age) was Pooh and her little boy (who's about 2 weeks) was Tigger. They were too cute! After that, we went to dinner to a restaurant there in downtown.

After we got back, we hurried and went TOT'ing with my friend Kim and her crew (they live 3 doors from us) I took the boys in a wagon and we just went down one street since it was close to their bedtime. The boys seem to understand what to do. Ronin stood at the door, holding his bucket out. He didn't quite understand that you're supposed to go to the next house so he just stood there LOL And of course, Kalynn had a blast TOT'ing with her friends in the neighborhood. We have a TON of candy.

Saturday, we went to Kaia's birthday party. The kids had a blast and Kaia got a lot of great stuff!

Sunday, didn't do much of anything. Just laundry.

Anyway, today I need to clean. My house is a wreck.

2008-10-30T20:38:00.000-06:00

Today, the boys had their Dr's appt. Overall it went well. Ronin is 23 lbs and Ryker is 24 lbs. She's happy with their growth!

Ronin is overall doing well. His vocabulary is great, and is putting words together..She is concerned about Ryker with is motor skills. She wants to get him some PT along with his ST and OT.

Ryker also has this pilonidal dimple. She's been wanting Ryker to have a spinal MRI to make sure his spinal cord isn't tethered. She called the NF clinic but they never called her back. So I called today and he has an MRI scheduled for March. Usually, they just do his head but they are going to go ahead and do his spinal too.

I really love this doctor. She respects me and isn't condescending like their previous doctor was.

On to Kalynn..I'm concerned about her reading. She isn't progressing like she needs to be. She told me yesterday that when she reads, the words swirl around and then disappear. So, a few things: Could it be a LD? Could it be her optic glioma (tumor on her optic nerve)? Anyway, I requested a referral to Scottish Rite, because they will evaluate her for learning disabilties (which is VERY common in kids with NF).

I just want to get her help soon. Kids with NF have a high incidence of ADHD, which she has. Kids with ADHD and kids with NF have a high incidence of LD's, which she has both, so I feel like she's got two "strikes" against her. I feel like if I don't get her help now, she will continue to struggle.

On to happy news, I'm excited for tomorrow! It's Halloween!! My friend Naomi and her family will be going TOT'ing with us around downtown. I'm also making a Halloween cake, and will make some caramel apples. I'm happy that it's on a Friday. Last year, we had to cut it short since she had school the next day..

2008-10-23T07:38:00.002-06:00

Molly, that's how GS leaders usually come about! LOL No one wants to do it but then someone usually volunteers at the parent meeting..If Michelle hadn't done it, I probably would've done it.

Well, I didn't get the job for that answering service..Mom suggested I call them and I did. They said they weren't hiring so I took that as I didn't get the job. Mom also suggested working at a hospital to register patients. So, I applied. We'll see how that goes.

So, I'm discovering, at least for me, that having twin toddlers is such a different ball game than having one toddler..We went to the park a few days ago. I said it was time to go. So, I get Ronin and then I have to go get Ryker who's on the other side of the play area. I get him and he throws a fit. While I'm getting Ryker, Ronin takes off and goes back on the play structure. I put Ryker down, he takes off while I'm getting Ronin. Rinse and repeat. Finally, a very nice lady who was with her little girl and a friend, offered to help. She took Ronin to the van while I held a tantruming Ryker. Someone said to hold him like a sack of potatoes. Tried that, he wiggled out..

But, even though it's been challenging, and it's just so different from when I just had Kalynn, I love having twins! My cousin is having twins and I just remember those feelings I had when I was pregnant with the boys. I think I was in denial about having 2, and was scared shitless about having 2 newborns. But, now? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Anyway, I need to go to Walmart in a bit.. Just to get out and plus, I need to get a few things..

2008-10-22T07:35:00.002-06:00

Well, nothing new to report! I haven't heard from anyone from that job. I'm not sure if I should call? I'm afraid that someone did call but I was gone. We don't have voice mail.

This past Saturday, I had Girl Scout Leader training. It was very interesting, and I got some great ideas. Hopefully, Michelle (the leader) will call me sometime this week so we can discuss what I learned. She has her training the day before our meeting..

After training, we went to the Fall Festival here in town. It was bigger and crowded than it was last year! It was fun though.

Sunday, we were going to a birthday party for my friend's little girl but she broke her arm :( I felt really bad for her..

Monday was my cake class. It'll be our last class! What am I going to do on Monday nights now!! I've been taking them since July!! Plus, I love our instructor. She also has twins, which is pretty neat.

Other than that, I've been working on the boys' costumes. They're going to be clowns! I just need to put the velcro on and put the elastic in the arms and legs. That should be done this weekend. It's so much cheaper to make the boys' costumes than to buy them. At Walmart, they're around $20. I made both of the boys costumes for less than that! The costumes were pretty easy once the patterns were cut out. Cutting out the patterns was such a huge pain in the rear. That took longer than the actual sewing!

And on one more note. I think a lot of you know that I have a friend, Naomi. She was the boys' party. She had her baby last week! It's a boy!!

Anyway, I must go.. I need to clean the house

2008-10-15T06:57:00.002-06:00

Thanks, Molly! I can't believe it's already Wed LOL

Well, I went to my job interview yesterday.. Apparently, they "lost" my stuff. I had already filled out the application, did testing and did the first interview. So, after sitting there for about 30 min, I had to fill out another application. I did the first interview..The guy seemed impressed that I worked for the older answering service..He was asking me if I knew some of the people that used to work for them.

The bad part, it's only $8, I'd have to work weekends and holidays. I don't know that $8 is worth it?? But a friend suggested that I try it and see if it'll work out, if not I can always quit.. He seems to be wanting to push me to work full time and I said that I don't want to work f/t due to daycare expenses and hubby not getting home til 4:15. He asked if I could get there at 4:30. It takes me AT LEAST 20 min to get there!! And there would be no way in heck that I'd want to do an overnight shift, or stay past 10.

So, I'm not sure if I want to do this to be honest. But it seems like the only jobs available at night are retail/call center jobs..If I could afford to work during the day, I'd love to work at a doctor's office.

2008-10-14T07:43:00.002-06:00

Good morning!!

Ronin is doing MUCH better. It's like he was never sick in the first place.. He's back to his full of energy self..

Then I had a scary moment on Friday..Bill cooked steaks on the grill..A piece of steak got caught in my throat, where I couldn't breathe..I was able to get out "I'm choking!" to Bill. I started feeling really dizzy. Thank goodness it went down on its own. It was very scary..

Other than that, it was pretty non eventful.

I do have a job interview today at 10:20am. I used to work for an answering service about 10 years ago. I worked there for 2-3 years. After I quit, another answering service bought them out. That answering service is where I'm interviewing today. I actually already did the application and testing, I just hadn't had a chance to do the 2nd interview, because I couldn't find a babysitter and then Ryker had surgery, etc. The nice thing is that the supervisor and the marketing person of the old answering service is working for this answering service. They said that they would give me a good recommendation. Hopefully, I will get this job. We could really use the $$. I'll only be working there p/t in the evening..

Uh oh..gotta run. The boys are getting into the babywipes.

2008-10-09T10:38:00.001-06:00

Ronin just got out of the hospital yesterday..

Ronin started vomiting in the late afternoon/evening. He couldn't keep anything down, including boobie milk. He started to really get puny and limp. I called the o/c Dr and he said to get fluids in him ASAP. I needed to give him 1/2 oz of something every 20 min. I gave him some watered down juice and nursed him, but he threw it up. I went ahead and brought him to the ER.

Got there around 8pm. We didn't get into a room until about 10pm. Ronin was so dehydrated that they had a hard time getting an IV in him. His eyes were sunken in, lips were really dry and hadn't urinated at all in a while.

Finally got the IV in, still very lethargic. Poor baby was so lethargic that he didn't fight the IV. The IV fluids didn't really help, he was still very lethargic. Ronin had to get an u/s to make sure it wasn't appendicitis. At around midnight, the doctor felt that it would be better to keep him overnight. That took another 2 hours. Finally get in a room around 2am. Of course, I have to stay. The only way he'd sleep was in the bed with me. He wanted to have nothing to do with the hospital crib.

He threw up again this morning. He slept on and off today, still lethargic. His pedi came in. She is soooooo awesome. She was thrilled that I am still nursing and encouraged me to continue to nurse. She said that it's better than Pedialyte. She wanted me to nurse as much as possible. If he could keep that down, we could go home..

Around 6pm, he was still a bit lethargic. Still hadn't eaten anything. He had been nursing quite a bit. I decided maybe it would be better to stay another night. Then around 8:30pm, he perked up. He wanted to get out and drag that IV with him He actually ate a popsicle. Since he was getting back to normal, I asked that if we could go ahead and be discharged. There was NO way he would be still and go to sleep.

Today, he seems to be doing better. He ate some yogurt and a little bit of toast. He's walking around and playing with toys. I'm really glad that the boys are still nursing..That was the only thing he would take yesterday as he refused any kind of sippy cup of juice or anything..I'm also grateful that I have a very supportive pedi , she's so awesome.

He's not allowed to have any milk for a week(and no, breastmilk is not included in that), he is to be on the BRAT diet, and clear liquids..

And today is the boys' 2nd birthday! Happy birthday boys!!!!

2008-10-02T12:30:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was one of those days that it was NOT fun having twins..

I needed to get a few things for the boys' party this weekend. We go to Walmart at least once a week. They usually do well. I did our usual thing, put one of them in the front of the cart and the other in the basket and started putting groceries in the cart. Ronin thought it'd be fun to pinch and smoosh the hamburger and hot dog buns. Having him in the basket is not going to work so I ask the greeter guy to get me a two seater.

I put the groceries in the two seater and buckle my boys up. Within a few minutes, Ronin has already got himself free and takes off. I got him back in his seat. He helps Ryker get himself unbuckled, but fortunately, he's not as fast as Ronin is, so I didn't have two toddlers running down the aisle.

Ronin kept unbuckling him and his brother, kept standing up, and I kept sitting him down and buckling them again. We finally get to the check out. As I'm trying to put things on the belt, Ronin gets himself free and takes off. I finally put him in the cart since there's room. Ryker gets himself free and takes off. I get him and a tantrum ensues. He does that arm "thing" that toddlers instinctively know how to do. He's kicking and screaming because he wants to go run around, which of course is dangerous. I'm trying to hold him while he's kicking and screaming, trying to get him to sit somewhere so we can get the hell out. It isn't happening. This really nice cashier comes up to me and pushes my cart for me to my van.

I was just glad to get out of there! I didn't finish my shopping, but I'll do that when Bill's home and leave them with him!

Beware of Jay Jay the Jet Plane Hangar Toy

2008-10-01T07:14:00.001-06:00

I am a part of an online community. This happened to one of the members. PLEASE read this article and watch the video:

http://www.whec.com/article/stories/S600589.shtml?cat=566

2008-09-29T08:39:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile!

Ryker had OT last week. I had been concerned because he has been choking on stuff that I didn't think he could choke on. So, I brought it to the attention to the OT. She did an eval and found that he is not "aware" of his tongue. Meaning, he can go front to back to suck, etc., but he can't move it side to side when you eat regular food. So, he chokes. So, he will be getting OT for that.

We've been having some diaper issues with Ryker..He'd wake up in the middle of the night sopping wet. AFter a few nights, we figured out what it was. He'd grab himself and then that would cause him to pee outside the daiper (get my drift?).. He'd wake up sopping wet, with his crib sopping wet. Then we'd have to change him, and change the crib. Changing the crib isn't exactly quiet, so then Ronin would wake up. After that, we've been putting him in sleepers. Haven't had anymore accidents.

Ronin's full of energy, as usual. Saying more words. Sissy taught him to say "Mine". So, all afternoon, he was saying "Mine!! Mine!! Mine!!"

Kalynn is doing well. Continues to do well in school!!

I'm still taking those cake classes..This last cake, was a bitch to do. We had to make 40 fondant roses. To make ONE rose, it took me 10 min to do. Along with that, I had to make 30 fondant leaves and the calyices? that go underneath the rose. Then I had to make four cakes: 2 6x2, 2 10 x 2, make the icing, and ice them. I still need to fondant them. Bill was a HUGE help. He made some of the roses, attach the calyices? and did the leaves. He also iced the cakes for me. I don't think I would've finished if it hadn't been for him.

What sucks is that it's going to be on there for maybe an hour and then they'll get thrown away. Can't really eat them. All that work just for a few minutes. Bah. Now I understand why people charge so much for wedding cakes, etc.

Anyway, I better go get the boys dressed. We need to make a trip to Walmart to get more fondant..

2008-09-21T13:01:00.001-06:00

Ack!! I am really sorry Lisa, I didn't mean to not publish your comment. I think I hit the wrong button and now I can't get it back..

Back to your regularly scheduled programming or I need to finish laundry and make my icing..

2008-09-20T21:19:00.002-06:00

Good evening!!

Another good week. Nothing really spectacular happened. Monday was our cake decorating class. We used fondant to cover our cake. It turned out ok. I'm not sure if I like the fondant. It's kinda odd to have something chewy on a cake.

Thursday I had my first leader's meeting. I learned some very interesting things. I am very excited about this year. We found out to go camping in November, we don't need to get camp trained since we'll have a "big sister" troop. Brownies will get to camp overnight. Then, January, we'll be selling cookies! So, family and friends, keep us in mind when you want some Girl Scout cookies.

Also on Thursday, I was asked to bring something for the Teacher appreciation lunch. I made a cake. It turned out ok. I need to work on my writing though. My letters keep having a "tail".

I can't believe how active my boys are. There was an opened window that opens out to the backyard and is low to the ground. Well, they pushed it out and climbed out of the window. Fortunately, they just ended up in the back yard. Ronin is at the point where he likes to jump off stuff. He even got hurt at one point but it still doesn't stop him. Ryker's getting there. He likes to climb on stuff but he can't quite get jumping yet. He'll get there.

The boys have been sleeping SO well. They'll either wake up once or sleep the entire night through..It's sooooooo nice.. Of course, they have their off days, but overall, they sleep great.

Anyway, I'm off to bed.

2008-09-14T21:19:00.002-06:00

Evening!!

Had a pretty good week.

Kalynn got her OT eval at school. She has some perception problems and problems with visual closure. I think that hampers her ability to write. So, she qualified for OT. PT is coming out next week. So, I'm happy that she's getting the help she needs.

My brother in law is here. He evacuated from the hurricane, and I am VERY glad he did.

I am now the Asst Troop Leader for the Brownie troop. I don't remember the debacle that was going on, but I'll explain it. Kalynn was in Daisies last year, which was Kindergarten. The GS changed the rules where Daisies would be K and first. But since her troop were Daisies in the "old" rules, they were allowed to bridge over.

The problem came when our old troop decided to only have the current girls that attended a particular school. Kalynn and 5 other girls didn't attend that school so we weren't allowed in the troop anymore. The troop organizer called and said that since we'd have to be in a new troop, we'd have to be Daisies. Absolutely NOT! So, she called around and found out that it would be up to the new leader whether we'd be Brownies or not.

Today was the meeting of the parents. It went really well!! One of the moms of the girls in our old troop stepped up and volunteered to be the leader. So, it's her as the Troop leader, me as the Asst Troop Leader. The girls from the old troop are now in the new troop plus an additional 4 girls. So I am really stoked. During the meeting, we got a treasurer, cookie mom and several other helpers. Our first meeting is in a few weeks. I have to attend training this coming up Thursday.

I think this year is going to go very well. I'm happy that we are Brownies, that was something that I and the other moms were adamant about. It would be ridiculous for us to have to be in Daisies again since they earned all of their petals and bridged to Brownies. I was prepared to fight for it, but I'm glad that I didn't need to do that.

So anyway, I better get to bed..

NIN Project

2008-09-09T10:55:00.002-06:00

I'm going to participate in a project called "Nursing Is Normal" by Kathy O'Brien. Here's the website:
http://www.kathyobrien.org/NINgallery.htm

Basically, it's to show that nursing in public is nothing to be ashamed of, and most of the time, you can't even see anything. It's something that I'm very passionate about.

In my breastfeeding circles, I read about how a mom was harassed for nursing in public at least once a week. It's very disheartening that people see a baby eating as offensive, or they compare it to: urinating, defecating and even fornicating. I'm tired of other people's comfort being put in the hands of the nursing mom, when all she's trying to do is taking care of her children.

So, I want to participate in this project. She will just photograph me, doing my daily business and nursing. I hope this shows people that nursing in public, and nursing in general is nothing shameful, and moms don't have to be hidden away because they choose to nurse their babies/children.

Anyway, I'm going to go feed myself, while hiding away in my livingroom while I watch People's Court.

2008-09-09T10:30:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon!

Kalynn has been doing very well in school. It's a huge difference between last year versus this year. This year, she has so much more confidence. I was afraid that it would hurt her self esteem that she's repeating but it's actually the opposite.

Boys are doing well. Ronin's picking up more words. Ryker is saying a few words as well. I can't believe they're 23 months, they're going to be 2 next month!! Time is going by so fast. Seems like it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with them, and freaking out about how I was going to handle it. And then their first year was such a blur. So chaotic. I was just thinking about Halloween, and how we had to run up to Target at the last minute to find a Halloween costume for Kalynn so she could go trick or treating. And then there was hardly anything left. I still feel really bad about that.

This year, Kalynn is going to be a pink unicorn. I found one on Ebay. Most of the new ones were $30-$40. I found one for $20. This year, the boys are going to be clowns. I'll be making their costumes. It seems easy enough, except I am going to need help with the elastic on the sleeves and pants.

I'm continuing to take my cake decorating classes. My friend Kim is taking Course 3 with me. We're using fondant in this class. Next week, we're making a cake using fondant, it's going to be a "present" cake. I'm a little nervous about it..

I'm watching our neighbor's little girl. They had to to go a funeral, and I don't blame her for not wanting to take her. She's 3 and it's been going well so far. Boys are being well..boys, but that's nothing new LOL

2008-08-26T06:46:00.002-06:00

Hey Molly! BTW, check out Facebook! A lot of people in our class are on there, including a lot of old band people!

Yesterday was Kalynn's first day of school! I was a bit nervous about the bus. But she got on it with no problem. And when she came home from school, she said she had fun on the bus. So, all of my apprehensions went away. She also said that she was her teacher's helper, which was good. I know she enjoyed that. So, all in all, the first school day was a success!

OK, gotta go. Boys are busting into the kitchen

2008-08-23T09:18:00.002-06:00

Morning!

It was a good week. Wed, I took the kids to the library and then I attempted going out to eat with them again. They did MUCH better. The boys actually sat quietly and ate their lunch. Maybe it was just an off day!

We also had Meet the Teacher Night on Thursday. Kalynn is repeating Kindergarten, and she has the same teacher, which is what we wanted. Her teacher is awesome.

Then there was GS registration Friday. Kalynn is already a GS and there's a bit of a tricky situation going on. There are new guidelines where Daisies are now K and 1st grade. Last year, Daisies was K and then Brownies was 1st grade. Since Kalynn was in Daisies in last year's guidelines, she was allowed to bridge to Brownies. We were assured that she'd be able to bridge. It wouldn't make any sense to do Daisies again since she earned all of her petals

Well, fast forward to a few weeks ago..Apparently, her old troop is only taking girls from a certain school, which Kalynn doesn't attend. So a lady called and said that Kalynn would have to be a Daisy again. NO way. That is NOT fair. So, she called me again and it's going to be up to the troop leader whether they're Daisies or Brownies. I went up there last night and she said that all of the parents didn't mind their girls being Brownies. So, she is positive that we'll be a Brownie Troop. There are 4 other girls in Kalynn's situation, so hopefully, we can all be in the same troop.

Also, I have decided to be Asst Troop Leader. Last night was registration and there wasn't anyone yet that volunteered to be Troop Leader. There's one more registration and hopefully there will be a Troop leader. Then, sometime in September, we'll get together and decided what to do..But like I said, I am pretty sure that we'll be a Brownie Troop.

Monday is Kalynn's first day of school! She'll be riding the bus. It was just a huge pain last year, with taking the boys out. Plus, she knows about half the kids in the neighborhood, so she'll be with kids she knows..

Anyway, that's pretty much it for right now!

2008-08-16T13:31:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon!!

What a week!!

Tuesday was Kalynn's birthday. I can't believe she's already 6. For her birthday, she got to go to the Dr LOL She's so tiny. She's only 37 lbs. The Dr isn't concerned, and I felt better.

Wed, Ryker had an appt with ECI. Mariah is happy with Ryker's progress. For motor skills, he's at 15 months and for speech he's at 17 months. He's going to get OT twice a month again. They put it to where it was only once a month, which isn't enough. So, they have it to twice a month now.

Thursday, Ryker had an appt with the ENT to check on his tubes. He had some blood crusted over his tubes, but fortunately, it didn't affect his hearing. In fact, he passed his hearing with flying colors!!

Yesterday we took Kalynn to Red Lobster for her birthday lunch. OMG, it was bad..The boys wouldn't sit still, they were loud, and throwing food. I ended up having to take them out and let them look at the lobsters while we waited for our food..it was just chaotic.

While we were there, a lady that worked there was telling me about how her daughter married a man that had twins in her family. Before she could finish her story, she had to help some customers and our food was ready. I didn't have a chance to tell her that the dad's side doesn't really have anything to do with twins. With fraternals, it's not like the dad can make the mom drop two eggs LOL With identicals, it's spontaneous..

After lunch, we went to Build a Bear workshop. Kalynn got a stuffed puppy. Of course, there was mention of twins..The girl there was asking questions about them and said something about us being lucky, but not in a nice way. Bill said "yeah, we ARE lucky". Then she tried to say something nice like how fun they were. Nice try lady.

I SWEAR, I *HATE* comments about how horrible twins are. People just focus on the negative instead of realizing that there are positives about twins. Yes, they are hard work, yes, they can be a handful. But it's SO neat to watch them play together, watch them hug each other because the other one's crying, getting two kisses and hugs..And to be snotty, they just don't know what they're missing, and I'm LUCKY to have twins.

Anyway, the manager kinda bugged me too. Apparently, the wrong bar code was on the puppy and the manager griped her out in front of us about how she should've remembered to get the right bar code. She was a bit condescending to her. Kinda bugs me when supervisors fuss at their workers in front of customers.

Ronin had a huge meltdown at the place. I was going to go look at Gymboree, but he was just having a meltdown that we left as fast as we could. He cried from the time we left til we got home. We got home and they immediately went to sleep.

That evening we went to this little carnival in town. Kalynn had been wanting to go for MONTHS. She got to ride a few rides and then we went to DQ, which was next door.

Today, we met Aunt Iris at Chuck E Cheese's. The kids had a BLAST. They all had a good time. And they were soooo much better than they were yesterday..

Anyway, I think that it's just getting too hard to take them out to sit down restaurants. I might just stick with fast food. It was really easy with Kalynn. But I guess the more kids you have, the more challenging it is..Or maybe it's because they're boys. I don't know..

2008-08-11T21:06:00.002-06:00

Good evening!!

Kalynn's party was Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun! It was a bit challenging watching the boys and trying to run the party but overall I think it went well!

Pictures are in my Myspace album or you can find them here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZNGTFi4atQQ&notag=1

Today was my cake decorating class. I'm taking the 2nd course. It's a bit tricky because I'm left handed and flowers are done differently with the left hand. One of the flowers we did required a different tip for left handers. They didn't have it so I had to try it with my right hand. It just turned into a mushy mess. Ahh well.

Kalynn starts back to school in 2 weeks. I can't believe it. The summer went by so fast.

Ryker continues to make progress in his walking. It's amazing. He is walking everywhere now. He hardly crawls anymore.

2008-08-08T10:39:00.001-06:00

FYI, I called the splash area again just to make sure that things are still good due to the recent Crypto outbreak in the area. They do a hyperchlorination treatment every 3 weeks and they just recently did one.

What it's like taking 2 Toddler boys out to lunch

2008-08-06T12:26:00.002-06:00

I take my boys out to lunch by myself probably once every week.

I have to say..it's getting quite challenging to take them out..Today we went to McDonald's, and here's how it went:

I cut up their burger for them. They decided that they want each other's food, even though it's the same thing. So, they fight over that. I try to separate them as far as I can. Then, Ryker proceeds to throw his food and say "AAH!!" Ronin chews up his food and then decides to spit it out.. Ronin decides he's done (he signs "all done" and says "nah nah!" ) and wants to get out of his high chair and starts to climb out of it. I tell him sit down and he screams.

Finally, they're done! I pick up the floor as much as I can, and clean off the table. We go into the play area.. They keep on wanting to climb up the slide while other kids are sliding down it. As soon as I get one down, the other makes a run for the slide. I get him down and the other makes a run for it. Rinse and repeat.

It's challenging and chaotic, but that's not going to stop me from going out with them! LOL I like getting out of the house.

And I have to say that Kalynn has been SUCH a great help! She will hold the hand of one of the boys and walk with them..

2008-08-06T12:18:00.002-06:00

Afternoon!

The past week has been pretty good! I started my course 2 cake decorating class. Our first class on this past Monday. This class focuses more on flowers and borders. The nice thing about this class is that we won't have to make a cake every week. There is one cake that we'll make but that'll be the last class. I think I want to take the 3rd class if there's a discount. At Michael's there have been specials on their classes. July was 50% off and August was 40% off. They're usually $35, plus the kits which are usually $30.

Also, I am trying to get things ready for Kalynn's party. Got some of it yesterday, just need a few things at Walmart..

I'm really excited about her party on Saturday!! And I wanted to reiterate this about the Crypto issue:

In case people are concerned since we are having it at a splash pad..I already called the place. They have already treated the water and there have not been any cases of Crypto.

2008-07-31T16:14:00.002-06:00

Good evening!

My Wilton Course 1 Decorating class is over. I think I am going to go ahead and take the 2nd course. It was alot of fun! I really learned a lot. There were things that I just wouldn't have known if I hadn't taken the class. The 2nd class starts on Monday so I will probably go sign up then. Here's a picture of the last cake I made.

Ryker news, he has been making SO much progress. He is walking more than he is crawling. He is so proud of himself! He's also making progress on the speech front as well.

Ronin is learning so much as well! He's learned how to jump off of stuff..We have this bin and he'll say "doh doh doh!!" (for one, two, three!) LOL

The boys are just so funny and so cute these days. They are so active. Some days they just wear me out.

One more note, I wanted to mention Kalynn's party in case people are worried about Crypto that's been going on in the metroplex. I called them and they have already treated the water and there have been no cases of Crypto.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for now! I need to go finish up dinner.

2008-07-27T20:40:00.002-06:00

Evening!

We had a pretty good weekend. Our friend's and our friend's little girl's birthday was this weekend. So we went to go see them for that. They live in Shenandoah, which is close to Conroe and The Woodlands. They just moved there a couple of weeks ago. They used to live down the street from us, then they moved 30 min from there, moved to OK, and now they're there.

We left Friday morning. It was a little rough, the boys were crying because they were hungry for lunch. So we had to stop, and also to change their diapers. A 3 hour trip is really a 4-4 1/2 hour trip because Kalynn has to go to the potty, changing diapers, feeding, etc.

Anyway, it was great to see them. Their little girl is about a year younger than Kalynn, and they've known each other since they were babies.

While on this trip, I have discovered that Ronin is a little fish! He loves swimming. He says "Mimming!!" We went swimming and I let him jump (I held onto him while he jumped). He love love loved it. In fact, that little stinker tried jumping in by himself! Fortunately, I was right there. He was so cute, he'd stand at the edge (with me holding on to him), and he'd say "doh doh doh jump!!!" (trying to say one, two, three jump!)

Ryker loved it too, but he couldn't really get into the water with his tubes. We had some stuff to put in his ears too.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home!

Ryker's ear tubes

2008-07-24T08:15:00.001-06:00

Thanks Molly!

Yesterday, Ryker had ear tube surgery..

He couldn't have anything to eat after midnight. He couldn't nurse after 1:30am. That night before, I wonder if he knew something was up or maybe it was his ears. Anyway, he woke up several times. Around 1:45am or so, he woke up and of course I couldn't nurse him. Bill took him and Ryker was NOT a happy camper. He screamed until about 3:30am or so. I couldn't sleep while he was screaming like this. It was very difficult as we had to wake up at 4:45am. Mom got here around 5am, I scooped up Ryker changed his diaper and we left.

The surgery went VERY quickly. I was taken to the recovery room after he was taken. I went to get a drink, went to the bathroom and before I was out of the bathroom, I heard Ryker crying. I couldn't believe how fast it went! He was crying, and the nurse encouraged me to nurse him. He was content for a few minutes, but then continued crying. Went home and he cried the entire way home.

You know, I wasn't nervous at all. Kalynn had surgery at 11 months and I think was a bit freaked out, especially when she woke up and was unconsolably crying. But I think that experience helped me. Plus, I knew he was in good hands, as the Dr is a friend of Bill's dad (who's also an ENT). If Bill Sr trusted him with his grandchild, then I trusted him fully.

The rest of the day went well. He was pretty much back to normal!

Submucosal Cleft Palate

2008-07-18T12:22:00.001-06:00

I forgot to mention this..The ENT mentioned that Ryker has a submucosal cleft palate but really didn't go into detail about what it is..After reading it, it makes SO much sense.

Here's some info about what it is: http://www.cleftline.org/publications/submucous

It says that ear problems are very common. It also mentioned swallowing issues. I have noticed that Ryker does choke on things that I didn't think he could choke on. It also mentioned speech problems, for example, nasally speech. We won't really know until he speaks more, which hopefully, the ear tubes will help with that. He also has a "bifid uvula", which is common in submucosal cleft palate. His regular pedi noticed it but didn't say anything about a cleft palate.

I was reading that and everything clicked! It makes sense.. I need to mention the swallowing issues next time we see the Dr.

2008-07-17T14:12:00.003-06:00

Afternoon!!

We had a Dr's appt today. Ryker's been tugging at his ears and sleeping like total crap. He has fluid. They did a hearing test and he has mild hearing loss, which is probably contributed by the fluid. He's probably had that fluid for several months. So, the ENT feels that tubes would be beneficial for him. Ryker will have his surgery next Wed.

2008-07-15T06:51:00.001-06:00

Sad news :( "Scooter" died. Bill found feathers and wings strewn over the yard. Bill is really upset. Rest in peace little Scooter!

2008-07-14T19:55:00.003-06:00

Bill holding the bird, which he named "Scooter" LOL

Kalynn holding the bird

2008-07-14T19:12:00.002-06:00

Evening!! I'm sitting here waiting on my cake to bake. I need to have my cake baked and frosted by Wed. I figure I'd let it cool down overnight and then frost it Wed afternoon while the boys are taking a nap.

Yesterday, mom got me an early birthday gift. She got me this cake decorator set that I had been wanting. She got it for me yesterday since I need it by Wed. It's SWEET! Lots of cool and nifty stuff in there.

After that we went swimming at Andy and Kim's house. The boys LOVE to swim. Ronin used to and Ryker does call it "bath". But, yesterday, Ronin actually said "swimming". He said "Mimming!!" It was really cute how he said it.

Today, Ryker had therapy. I had been concerned with his speech. When my FIL was here, I had asked him to look at Ryker's ears (he's an ENT). He said that there was fluid behind there. I know that can be a factor in speech delay, so I am going to make an appt with an ENT to see what they say. They won't do an eval until that's taken care of, so to speak. Mariah (the gal from ECI) said that they don't consider a speech delay until they're 6 months behind. Ryker's 5 months behind..

So, we had a nest above our porch..The mama bird laid eggs and 4 hatched. One of them died :( But three of them flourished! We saw them every single day. Well, now they're out of the nest. One of them will go up to Bill and let him hold it. Bill named it Scooter LOL I got some pics, I'll post them here in a bit..

Tomorrow is payday and I plan on going grocery shopping with the kids. An excuse to get out of the house. They do pretty well out shopping for the most part.

2008-07-12T12:28:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon!!

This week was pretty good!

Monday was our 7 year wedding anniversary! Lisa was so nice to offer to babysit. She got here around 5:30. I thought she did pretty well! We went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner, and then hung out at Barnes and Noble. AFter that I got ice cream at Marble Slab.

Wed, Ryker had therapy. That went well. I have to keep him out of a "W" sit. He sits on his bottom with his feet behind him, which looks like a "W". Something about stretching out his ligaments and can cause problems later. She said that if he isn't walking better by 2, then we really need to follow up with the Doctor.. Hopefully, he'll be walking by then..

Also, on Wed, I signed up for a cake decorating class at Michael's. So far so good! I am glad that I am taking this class. There are things that I would've had no clue if I hadn't taken the class. For example, I had NO idea that there were different consistencies of frosting that are used for different things.

Friday, we met our friends Naomi and Chad at the mall. We hung out there for a bit and then went to Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch.

Saturdays are usually "Mommy and Kalynn time". But this time, she wanted ALL of us to go..Honestly, it would've been easier if Bill didn't go. He was more of a pain. He doesn't like McDonald's anyway. Yes, I'm crazy. I take them out to fast food places by myself quite a bit. Things go more smoothly when I'm by myself.

Anyway, not much else is going on around these parts. Just same old same old.

2008-07-06T20:32:00.002-06:00

Finally have a chance to post!!

This week was pretty good!

The kids and I went to Splash Factory on Wed with some moms from the DFW area message board. It was fun! The kids had such a great time. Kalynn's party is going to be there and I admit, I'm a bit excited for it! After that we went to Chick Fil A and I saw my friend Kristi there. It was just by coincidence! So, we had an impromptu lunch together..

Friday, Bill and I took the kids to the Cedar Hill fountains at Uptown Village. Yes, most of our outings involve water LOL

Saturday, we went to our family reunion. It was nice seeing everyone. I haven't seen them since grandma died. We ate, talked, Kalynn went swimming..It was fun. Then after that we went to my niece's first birthday party. The party was awesome! Allie did a great job. The kids had fun.

Today (Sunday) Kalynn had a birthday party for her friend Ava, who's our next door neighbor. It was at "It's a Girl Thang". It was SOO cute! The girls got to dress up in princess dresses, and the ladies did their hair, makeup and nails. It was really adorable. Of course, stupid me, forgot the camara.

Speaking of birthdays..Kalynn's birthday theme is going to be Pink Poodle In Paris..I have decided that I am going to make her cake.. So, I've been searching all over the internet to get some ideas.. Here are a few that I'm going to try (I am going to practice)
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2329885580014386786vsLlfT

http://cakefun.blogspot.com/2005/08/making-of-pink-poodle-cake.html

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/9/5955

(the last cake)

I attempted the other night...I didn't have enough icing, but hopefully, after a few practice tries, it'll turn out well. I am also going to make some cupcakes with paw prints on them..

If anyone wants to see latest pics of the kiddos, I have them all on my Myspace account!

2008-06-30T13:06:00.002-06:00

Good afternoon!!

Last week was pretty good.

Lunch with Stephan was good. We went to Floresitas on Tuesday. I wanted to stay and talk a bit longer but the kids were getting antsy, cranky and throwing food on the floor..

Wed, we went to Souper Salad. I had been wanting to go for quite a while. I haven't gone in YEARS. Bill wasn't impressed but I LOVED it. Kalynn did too. My friend Mandy (my next door neighbor) loves it too, so maybe we'll go by ourselves one of these days. Got Kalynn's party booked. After that Bill got a smoker.

Thursday was the pool party. I am NOT going to a pool party by myself with all three kids, including twin toddlers who have no fear of the water. It was NOT fun. It was especially hard getting in and out of the pool. The way her pool is set up, there's a spa on the top level and then between the spa and the pool is about a 3-4 ft drop, and there's a water fall. I was in the spa with the boys. This little girl was playing in the spa, and then decided to get out. The front of the pool where the waterfall is, is tiled. She gets out of the tiled part and slips out of the spa! I caught her by the wrist and yelled out for help. OMG, it was so scary. Thank goodness her mom there and got her. I just shudder about what would've happened if I weren't there.

Friday and Saturday didn't do much. The boys were sick with a stomach virus.

Sunday, our friends that live in OK came into town. We went to lunch with them at Babe's. It was sooo yummy. After that we went swimming at their friend's house. Then went to our mutual friend's house (Andy and Kim, they live down the street from us) and had wings and hung out. So, it was a good day.

This week is pretty empty. Wed, I have a playdate at the Splash Factory, so that'll be fun..

2008-06-23T06:51:00.002-06:00

Morning! Had a pretty good weekend..

Friday, Bill's dad came into town. We went to lunch with them and Bill's Aunt and Uncle. It was nice seeing them again. They haven't seen the boys since they were 2 months old.

Saturday, didn't do much of anything.

Sunday, our neighbors watched all 3 kids for us while we went out to dinner. We were only gone for about an hour.

This week isn't going to be too busy..Today I need to go pay for Kalynn's party, Tuesday meeting Stephan for lunch, Wed, nothing, Thursday a pool party, and then Friday, we *MIGHT* go to Hawiaan Falls in Mansfield.. But if not, maybe we can go to Uptown Village to the fountains..

Wow, boys are still asleep. Uggh, why does this happen?? On the weekends, they wake up at 6:30am-7am. But during the week? They sleep til 8-8:30am. Figures.

Speaking of the kiddos, I must share what's new in their lives..

Ronin has taken up a love for balls (I always giggle when I say that, yes, it's me being 12 again LOL) We were at Bill's Aunt and Uncle's house Friday when he saw a baseball across the room. He says "Ball? Ball? Ball?" He says a ball, he goes right for it.. I wonder if he's going to like sports.. He also loves anything to do with water. He calls water play "bath". When we go to the fountains at the mall, it's "bath" or swimming, it's a "bath". We were watching diving yesterday and sure enough "bath!"

Ryker loves trucks and cars. Or really anything with wheels. He's also getting brave! He has been taking a few steps here and there.. Hopefully in the next couple of months he'll be walking..He also loves to copy what we do. It's cute to see Ronin do something and then Ryker try to copy it..He also loves the water! He more likes swimming than he does the fountains..

Kalynn has lost her bottom front tooth! The one next to it is also loose. I can't believe it. It's bittersweet because she's growing up. I can't believe she's going to be 6.

On a different note, we have baby birds! A barn swallow decided to make its nest on part of our front porch. We have a little bit of shelving there..Now there are about 4 baby birds. It's neat to see them peek out of their nest..

Anyway, I guess that's it..I think the boys are awake.

2008-06-18T09:50:00.002-06:00

I've been busy the past few weeks! Last week, we went for a walk at the Cedar Hill Nature Preserve, had a picnic, and went to the Fountains in Cedar Hill. It was a lot of fun! I hate staying home with all the kids and the kids have fun getting out.

This week, we went to Chick Fil A to meet my mom's group. Tomorrow, I'm meeting those moms at the Fountains again.. Friday Bill's dad is coming in town.

So, we've been keeping busy and enjoying the summer.

I gotta run...Ryker's crying..

Venting..Breastfeeding

2008-06-18T09:40:00.002-06:00

Before I get to what I've been up to, I wanted to vent for a minute. I belong to several breastfeeding forums. The past couple of weeks, I have read stories of mothers being harassed for nursing their babies.

Honestly, I am just so tired of society's attitude of breastfeeding in general. Laws are in place to protect mothers who choose to nurse their babies. However, mothers still get harassed. There will be news coverage and/or a blog and then society rears its ugly head. They'll say things like "Ever heard of a pump and bottles?" "Sex is natural, but I don't want to see it" or "farting is natural" or "pooping and peeing are natural" etc etc etc. "Why can't you feed your baby before you go out?"

OOH and then there's the attitude of nursing past one. "If they can do x y or z, they're too old". "It's abuse" or "The mom gets off on it". I am proud that I am nursing my 20 month old twin boys (GASP!!) but I'm getting to the point where it's a secret almost. It's not that I'm ashamed, but I don't want to hear people's ignorant opinions about it. And trust me, I've heard quite a bit.

I feel like society says "Breastfeed!! But only do it in your house and only to an age I am comfortable with"

OK, vent over..

2008-06-05T20:38:00.003-06:00

Wow, 2 posts in one week!

Kalynn is out for the summer!!! Woohoo! She had her Awards Day today and after that I just took her home..

Today was a pretty good day..We went out for dinner because I had a hankering for Panda Express..It was good. The boys *LOVED* it. After that went to Target because I wasn't ready to go home..

Tomorrow, I am planning to take the kiddos the Uptown Village. They have a spray park and a play area. I think it'll be fun. I had very limited time to do things with the boys since I had to be back to smoosh in a nap before I had to go get Kalynn. I am hoping to do more stuff with the couple of mom's groups I joined since Kalynn's out of school now..

We have a little visitor on our porch..Well, not on, more above our porch. There is a nest with 3 eggs..So, hopefully in a few weeks we'll have some baby birds. Bill took pictures, so I'll get those uploaded...eventually.

2008-06-03T06:46:00.002-06:00

Morning!!

Sunday was Kalynn's Court of Awards for Girl Scouts. It went well! She is now a Brownie Scout..She really enjoys Girl Scouts..I am hoping to be more involved as much as I can.

Monday, Ryker had therapy. I had to miss Kalynn's Alphabet Parade..They were to dress up as the letter they were assigned. I was going to make her a costume but she was insistent about not dressing up. Apparently, most of the kids were dressed up except for her but she didn't care. Ah well..She has next year to do it again.

Today, they have "Splash Day" today at school. I'm sure it's playing in some sprinklers and doing other fun stuff. Tomorrow they get out early and then Thursday is their last day and their award ceremony. I am SO ready for school to be out. I hate getting up at 6:15am, and helping get Kalynn ready and making her lunch etc.

This weekend is Jackson's party.

Anyway, I'm just ready for this week to be over.

2008-05-30T20:55:00.002-06:00

Evening!! Kalynn had her class party today. I sometimes hate going to her school because I get a lot of stupid and annoying comments.

Today, this lady said she had two kids who were two years apart and were 'just like twins'. Or how they didn't want twins, or they don't know how I do it. Honestly, I'm sick of the comments like that. Twins aren't that horrible. Yeah, they are work, but I love it. I love watching them interact and play. I love that I get two slobbery baby kisses. I mean, seriously, what happened to "Your children are cute". Why must they say they don't want twins or how horrible it would be?? I mean, would I go up to someone and say "I wouldn't want to wear your outfit. I don't know how you can wear that outfit"? I don't understand why people can say crap like that about other children.. Uggh.

Anyhoo, I'm tired.. I went running today. Hopefully I can get a handle on my eating habits, which are atrocious.

2008-05-29T11:11:00.003-06:00

Afternoon!! Haven't posted in awhile. Guess I'll update on my boring life!

Mother's Day was good, overall. Spent time with my mom and went to dinner. Kalynn made me a card, and Bill helped the boys with a card. It was really sweet.

I ordered some new cloth diapers with my stimulus $$. I got some one size pockets, which include: 3 Tiny Tush, and 2 Blueberry Minky diapers. OMG, the Minky is SO SO soft..Unfortunately, that is the only ones I'll probably get. I'd have to sell off quite a few of my other diapers just to buy one.. I also got some premium prefolds, which are nice and thick.
Here is my fluff (Our camara isn't working well since I dropped it..doh)

May 17th was Aunt Barbara's 50th birthday party! It was 70's themed and it was fun! Our neighbors watched the boys for us. Here's the link to my album:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZNGTFi4atOs&notag=1

That next Friday, Kalynn had her Girl Scout end of year party. That was pretty fun! It was held at a mom's house and her house and yard were just gorgeous. It was a sleepover but I decided not to because everyone had tents except for us, and I didn't want to sleep outside. And my allergies were acting up.. So we went home.

The rest of last weekend was pretty good. Our friends got their pool set up so we went swimming over there a few times.

This coming up weekend, Kalynn has Court of Awards, where she bridges from Daisies to Brownies.

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say for now.

2008-05-24T12:27:00.001-06:00

Dropping off a couple of videos of the boys..

Boys vs the laser pointer

2008-05-07T08:20:00.002-06:00

Morning!! Finally have a chance to post..

The past few days have been uneventful.

Thursday Kalynn did tour the Police Station. It was pretty nifty. It used to be a church, so it's pretty interesting how it turned from that to a police station. The officers weren't too bad to look at either.

I had been concerned that Kalynn would not be able to bridge to Brownies because she is repeating Kindergarten. But I did find out that she will be able to bridge!! She has her ceremony June 1. I'm excited for her! She loves Girl Scouts.

Saturday, Ronin started running a fever. Then Sunday, I noticed he had some sort of rash. He had it on his legs, his arms and his groin. They were raised bumps. It wasn't bothering him. It seemed like as fast as it appeared, it disappeared. I wonder if it was Hand Foot Mouth Disease? Then Monday, Kalynn started running a fever. I've been checking her for a rash, but so far, no rash. She ran a fever Monday and Tuesday. Today, she seems to be better. Thank goodness she was off Monday and Tuesday, so she didn't have to miss any school.

Otherwise, the kiddos are doing well! The boys are so darn cute!! They love to hug each other and wrestle. Ronin LOVES to play with Kalynn. Kalynn put him in her doll stroller and pushed him around in it. Then he pushed her around in it. Ronin goes up to Kalynn and hugs her. Ryker loves to roughhouse with her. It's just so neat to see the kids play together. I'm SURE it won't be like that all the time, but it's cute to see right now.

2008-04-28T19:11:00.002-06:00

Evening!!

The weekend was ok. Nothing really exciting really.

Saturday, we were supposed to have severe storms...again. Mom had given us an emergency radio for Christmas so I wondered if it would work like a weather radio..going off during warnings. And it does!! So I set it up for the night because the storms were supposed to be in the wee early morning hours. And uhh..it definitely works LOL I set it too loud so it scared the bejeezus out of me when it went off for the severe storms. But, now I know it works. And at least I know I won't have to wake up with a tornado outside of our window.

Sunday (yesterday) night was bad. Ryker kept waking up and crying. AT around 2am, I asked Bill if he'd take over. Then Ronin woke up at 3am. We had to be up at 6:30am. But Bill let me sleep in and he took care of Kalynn. I got to sleep an extra 30 min before Ryker woke up. So, needless to say, I am tired!!

Kalynn has Girl Scouts this Thursday. She is taking a tour of the police station, so that should be interesting.. Then next Monday and Tuesday, no school! Woohoo!!! I can't believe it's a few days from May!!

2008-04-25T07:00:00.002-06:00

Morning!!! First, I wanted to respond to the comments!

Molly-You're welcome! If you have any questions about going cloth, let me know!

Lisa-Ryker is 18 months, almost 19 months. I really hope that it's the case. I started a thread a few months ago at BOLU and some of their kids didn't walk til 20 months! It's so hard to tell if it's developmentally related since he is developmentally delayed, or a physical problem with his spinal cord, or he just isn't ready.

It's been a pretty good week. I can't believe it's already Friday!! Didn't do much this week.
Tuesday went to my "boobie meeting". There was a visitor. She is an LC from NJ, who wrote a couple of books: "Defining Sucess" or something like that. It's about nursing after a reduction. And "Breastfeeding Mother's Guide to Making More Milk" which is about low supply. She was very nice and we enjoyed her visit.

Wed : Not a good day for me. It was one of those days where yes, they were a handful. They were clingy and cranky. If they weren't crying or wanting me to hold them, they were climbing on top of the couch or banging the side table against the back door. I was exhausted by the time Bill got home.

That night we had some severe storms. I really hate this time of year. I think in the past 3 weeks, we've had tornadoes every week. Tornadoes scare the crap out of me. I wish our area had basements. Or that we had some kind of storm shelter.

Anyway, I guess that's it. Nothing really exciting..

2008-04-20T20:03:00.002-06:00

Good evening!

Our weekend was good! Brandon and Karla came over. Brandon and Bill went out to see the UFC fight, and Karla and I stayed home with the kiddos. Rented a movie, and it was fun! Just like old times.

This past week went by pretty fast! The boys had a well child check on Wed. Ronin is back on the growth chart for weight (first percentile). He had been off of it for awhile. He's in the 55th pecentile for height. I don't remember the percentile for his noggin. Ryker is on the 3rd percentile for weight, 39th percentile for height, and 90th percentile for his noggin. Unfortunately, they both had ear infections. She is happy that I am still breastfeeding but felt like they needed whole milk as a supplementation. However, I disagree. For one, breastmilk has more fat in it. Also, no matter how much they eat, or how much fat I put in their food, they are going to be small. I found this out with Kalynn. I was always worried because she has always been small. I tried adding more fat, but it didn't and still doesn't work. But, Bill's small. Kalynn's small. The boys are going to be small even though they eat like piglets. But other than that, they are doing great!

The Dr. is still concerned that Ryker isn't walking. She said she'd call the NF clinic to see if they can get him an MRI of the spine to see if his spinal cord is tethered.

Speaking of the NF clinic, they are GREAT. They agreed that Ryker does need more therapy and once a month will not cut it. So the Drs at the NF Clinic are going to write a letter about getting him more therapy. Hopefully, he'll be able to get more. The reason why his therapy got cut was because funding was cut. So, we'll see!!

Today, Kalynn was sick. She had been complaining that her ear hurt. So, we got her some Amoxicillin. She has NEVER had an ear infection so she's never had to take this antibiotic. So, I gave it to her this morning and shortly thereafter, she got sick to her stomach. She puked and then slept the entire day. So, I'm thinking it was the Amoxicillin. I don't know if it's an allergic reaction or just a side effect. Needless to say, I won't be giving her anymore.

Anyway, not much else is going on. With that being said, I'm gone! Adios!

2008-04-14T18:52:00.001-06:00

Bill thought it'd be fun to use the boys as a turn table LOL

2008-04-10T14:58:00.003-06:00

What a crazy past few days!!

I was sick with a fever Monday, Tuesday and Wed. Today I feel better, but not 100%. Monday night was tough..let's just say that Bill redeemed himself.

Wed, Ryker had therapy. I expressed my concern that Ryker seems to be falling more behind. The OT agreed. She said that ECI probably won't give him more therapy due to lack of funding. So, I'm going to look at other options. I am a little hesitant due to money. Even though we do have insurance, it's still quite a bit out of pocket. Hopefully, we'll figure something out.

Wed night was SCARY!! I woke up around 3am with the wind howling. I thought it was a tornado. Fortunately, no it wasn't a tornado but a nasty storm. I was watching Channel 8's news with the weather guy, and when there is circulation, they show them as little rotating circles. They had one of those rotating circles near us but I guess it fell apart. There were lots of those circles all over the radar map. I was VERY scared, and shaking. Thank goodness the kids all slept through it. I decided that it would probably be good to have a tornado drill, just to figure out who will get who and where to go.

Today the kids had an NF clinic appt. The waiting was horrible!! The appt was at 10:3am and we didn't get in a room til 12!! I was by myself with all 3..yeah..not fun. Mom was able to see us since she works close to the hospital. It was nice having an extra set of hands. Note to self: INSIST that Bill takes the day off next time.

Anyway, here's the lowdown:
Kalynn:
Her MRI scans are stable!! No growth!!! I expressed my concerns about her speech, and her writing. There is an education lady and she said she will call the school to see what we can do for her. Otherwise, she looks great!!

Ryker:
His MRI's are stable as well. Apparently, he does have an enlargement of his optic nerve but not big enough to call it an optic glioma, which is great! I expressed my concern about Ryker's delays. The Dr said she would write a script for more therapy. I need to call and find out the information and then I'll call her to get a script..

Ronin:
He has been discharged!! I have no concerns about him, he has no freckling, he doesn't have multiple CAL's. But if I ever have concerns about him, she'd look at him since he'd be there anyway with the other kiddos.

So, even though the wait was horrendous, the clinic itself was great. The people are fantastic. The Dr apologized for the wait, which was nice!

As I was walking out, this lady held the door open for us. I thanked her and she said 'You got one too many!' and laughed. Uhh..yeah.. Really funny lady. So that was another annoying twin comment for the day.

Anyway, I better go and cook some dinner.

2008-04-07T12:47:00.002-06:00

The reason why Ryker had to have an MRI is because he has Neurofibromatosis Type 1. It's a genetic disorder where tumors grow anywhere on their body. So, they do an MRI to make sure there aren't any new growths. They (Kalynn and Ryker) have to have an MRI every year to make sure everythings fine.

Blaaaaaaahhh. I feel like doody. My head hurts and my throat hurts. The boys are coughing and have snotty noses. So, that's set back their sleep....again. It seems like once we start getting a handle on their sleep, something has to come up and disrupt it. Sooo frustrating!!

Thursday, all 3 kids have an appt at the NF clinic. I am a little nervous because we're supposed to have severe weather that day. GREAT. Hopefully, it'll rain AFTER we get there and it'll stop when we're done. I'll probably be there all morning and some of the afternoon.

2008-04-06T09:23:00.003-06:00

Ryker had his MRI this past Thursday.

That morning was tough. Ryker wasn’t able to eat any solid foods, but fortunately, he was able to nurse til 9am. So, what I did was, Ryker got up at 6:30am, and I decided to let Ronin sleep a little late. Ronin woke up at 8am, and at 8:30am, I put Ryker down for a nap. That way I could feed Ronin his breakfast without having to worry about Ryker. I let Ryker sleep until right before we left (I had already gotten him dressed). So, it all worked out.

We got to the hospital. When it was time for the IVs, poor Ryker had a hard time. They couldn’t find a good vein in either hand, so they ended up having to get an IV in his foot. Poor baby being stuck 3x’s :(

I went with him to the MRI room. I was able to stay there until he was sedated. The nurses commented about how hard it was for him to go down! LOL Ryker fought tooth and nail to stay awake! Finally, the meds got the best of him and he finally fell asleep.

The MRI machine made me feel soooo weird..I started feeling really dizzy and sick. It felt like my internal organs were about to rip from my body. I had to leave for a few minutes. I was able to come back but I stood further away from the machine, and it was fine. It was just so weird.
I decided to get some lunch, and after lunch, I let Ronin walk around a bit. He was so stinkin’ cute. He kept saying "bye bye thithter!" (sister). He was saying bye bye to other things but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Got back to the room and poor Ryker was so out of it. I was finally able to nurse him. We tried the juice first but he didn’t want it. By 7pm, he was still a little groggy but not as much. We had to watch him like a hawk because he still wanted to climb on top of the couch with Ronin.

I was so afraid that their night time sleep would be interuppted but they both slept through the entire night!!! They both slept til 6:30am! It was great.

Course, now everyone is sick. I expected last night to be a bad night and it was. I swear, it seems like we're always getting set backs with their sleep. Kalynn and I are coughing and have sore throats. The boys are coughing. Fun.

Thursday, all 3 kids have appts at the NF clinic. All 3 because we're not 100% sure that Ronin doesn't have it. I don't THINK he has NF but they just want to make sure..

Anyway, I better jet. Ryker is crying and refusing to take a nap.

Response to Molly re: covers

2008-04-06T09:06:00.004-06:00

The covers thast I use for my prefolds (I also use pockets, which don't need covers) are

Bummis Super Whisper Wraps:

http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/products/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=28

Proraps:

http://nickisdiapers.com/catalog.php?category=65

I also have some customs from Wiggle worm Bottoms:

http://wigglewormbottoms.com/store/Default.asp

My next purchase is going to be Starbunz, they are SO cute!
http://lilbunz.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=DiaperCovers&Sub=196&isThumbs=No&Thumbs=

If you just use prefolds and covers, you could get by with about 6-8 covers. The great thing about the covers like the Bummis and the Proraps, is that you can reuse them several times.

If you have anymore questions, let me know! :)

2008-03-24T11:11:00.002-06:00

We went to the zoo last Wed and it was GREAT!! I am so glad that my sister Lisa went. She was a huge help. The kids really enjoyed it. Kalynn got to ride her first real horse. She was so excited! Ronin actually enjoyed it about half way through. He LOVED the birds. He signed "bird" and said"bir!!". He also would wave bye bye to all the animals. Ryker really wasn't impressed LOL Maybe he'll be like his sister. Kalynn wasn't really impressed til she was around 2 or 3.

Friday, our friends Brandon and Karla and their clan were in town. They came over for a bit. Journey and Kalynn enjoyed playing together. After that, we went to eat lunch at a Thai place. I really miss them. They live in Oklahoma, and B is hoping to find a job closer to here.

Saturday evening, we dyed eggs. It was the first time we actually dyed eggs. I usually just use plastic eggs and fill them with jelly beans (or jello beans as Kalynn calls them). She enjoyed it! Even Bill got into the action.

Sunday morning (Easter), I got the kids' Easter baskets ready and we did an Easter Egg hunt in our house. The boys didn't quite grasp the idea that you're supposed to put the egg in their baskets. They enjoyed clanking them together better.

I decided to make Easter lunch/dinner. I got a ham and some fixings to go with it. Mom came over and had dinner with us. I thought it turned out pretty good! I was pretty darn proud of myself! I have never made a ham before.

So, all in all, it's been a great few days. Alas, spring break is over and it's back to the grind again.

On the sleep front, overall, they've been doing GREAT. Last night wasn't so great though. Last night sucked big donkey doo doo. Ryker is getting his molars in, and those aren't fun. I could feel the tooth about to poke through. I gave him some Tylenol and some Orajel. I need to get some Motrin and more Hyland's Teething Tablets. Anyway, in a nutshell, I only got 3 hours of sleep last night-I had to wake up at 6:15am to get Kalynn up. But, Bill said he would get Kalynn dressed and I could go back to bed. So the boys and I slept til 8:15am. Hopefully tonight will be better!

2008-03-18T07:42:00.002-06:00

Morning!

Kalynn's MRI went well overall. Apparently, after she started to wake up from the anesthisia, she had some mucus in her throat and she kept coughing. Bill said she started gasping too. They had to intubate her. Thank goodness she was better by the time we got home.

Sleeping has been better. We had a few setbacks but we're making progress. Last night, Ryker kept waking up and sorta whimpering. He always put himself back to sleep. Ronin woke up around 12am. I got him and comforted him, and then put him back down. He fussed for a few minutes but finally did go to sleep. Everyone slept til 7:30am. I guess since we're working on sleeping longer stretches, that their schedules are going to change around a bit. We'll figure it out though

Finally took Kalynn to get some pants and other clothes. I found some 6Xslim that fit her. The problem with her is that 5's are too huge in the waist and too short. But, 6's are the right length but even bigger in the waist. When people ask me what size she wears, it's a bit complicated LOL She wears 6 in shirts and dresses, 6 slims in pants, and 5's in shorts and skirts.

Tonight is my boobie meeting. Tomorrow I plan on going to the Dallas Zoo with the kids and Lisa is supposed to come down. Then there's Easter. Gotta get the kids' Easter stuff.

Anyway I guess that's it for now!

2008-03-15T07:41:00.003-06:00

The boys SLEPT!!! (Knocking on wood here) Ryker's been sleeping for 7 hours so I go ahead and nurse him when he wakes up. Ronin, however, SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!! He has NEVER done that!! Maybe there IS hope that I will get some sleep afterall!!

Today I am hoping to take Kalynn clothes shopping. She needs some 6 slims badly. She needs slims because regular 5's and 6's are humongous on her. The length is good but the waist is just huge. But slims fit her perfectly. And also, I'm going to try size 7 shirts! She has gotten taller just in the past few months!

Bill and Kalynn are gone. Kalynn has her MRI today. I hate that I can't be there with her. I thought about taking everyone but it would be such a pain and more of a hassle. So, I decided to stay back since I know their schedules the best. Ryker has his MRI April 3rd and then all the kids have an NF appt April 10th.

2008-03-09T12:50:00.003-06:00

Snow!

Ryker in Kalynn's pink cowboy hat but Ronin was NOT happy LOL

Ronin in Kalynn's cowboy hat

Kalynn ready for the rodeo!

Before the rodeo parade started

During the parade

2008-03-09T12:36:00.003-06:00

It's been a busy past few days!

Thursday during the day it snowed North of us. We (as in our city) didn't get jack. It just rained. I was bummed! But Friday morning there was snow! Kalynn did have to go to school but there was a 2 hour delay. We did indeed have the Rodeo and that was fun. I'll have to post a few pics here in a minute. After that they were having some activities in the school. I didn't stay for that since I had the boys and it was just a huge PITA.

I have decided to start nightweaning the boys. I feel like they don't need to nurse at night. They eat PLENTY of food and nurse PLENTY during the day. So I don't feel like they NEED to nurse as much as they do at night. So last night, Bill got up with them. Instead of bringing them back to bed to nurse he brought them in the livingroom and rocked them. Ryker actually did very well with it! Ronin, however, was PISSED. But overall, it went better than I thought it would. HOpefully, a few nights from now, it'll get better and better.

I belong to an online community. It's a parenting message board. It's so much more than a message board. Overall, they are great women. I have a journal on there. One of my journal buddies suffered an unimaginable loss. She was 35 weeks pregnant and lost her baby. They have no idea what happpened. I can't even fathom what she's going through right now. I am just so heartbroken for her. Our message board community is awesome because they are really being there for her right now. It's so hard to know what to say in these situations.

Anyway, off to post pics

2008-03-05T19:42:00.002-06:00

I did finally hear from Scottish Rite. Unfortunately, he doesn't qualify because his issue is more neurlogical than orthopedic. So, they suggested that he sees a pediatric surgeon or a neurosurgeon. But before he sees them, he needs to have a spinal MRI. Oh well.

Their pink eye is finally cleared up!

I can't believe how much Kindergarten is so different! They're learning about FRACTIONS!! Fractions in Kindergarten!! I don't think I learned about fractions til later! Speaking of Kindergarten, they are having a "rodeo" on Friday. We have to make a "horse" that she can ride on (the horse that has as a stick). I am going to make it with the left over faux fur from her skunk costume. I found a pink Cowboy hat and a pair of boots for $4! The boots aren't exactly cowboy but they'll do. Plus they were $4!! She has a blue blouse that I figure that she can wear too. I may go to a thrift store to see if I can find a shirt that is more "cowgirly" .

The boys are doing well! They are interacting together more and more. They are so darn cute. The other day, Ryker was making faces at Ronin and Ronin was cracking up. They are also starting to copy each other. It's really cute. I just feel so happy and grateful that I was "chosen" to have twins. Yes, it's hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Anyway, I guess that's it for me!

2008-02-29T13:25:00.002-06:00

It's been about 2 weeks since I blogged last!

Still haven't heard anything from Scottish Rite. Ryker's OT appt was this past Monday (the 25th). He's now 4 months delayed motor wise, which puts him at 12 months (they'll be 17 months on March 9) He's also speech delayed, which per the OT, goes hand in hand. Ronin is pretty much right on target!

Everyone's sick except for me. R&R have pink eye. Fortunately, that's clearing up. They also have colds. Kalynn's missed school, her throat was hurting and she had a fever. Bill's sick too.

The kids have an appt at the NF clinic in April. Kalynn and Ryker will have their scans probably a few days before that.

Last night, I couldn't sleep. Note to self:
--Don't drink Dr. Pepper right before you go to bed
--Don't watch Ghost Hunters International, especially when they catch voices on the recorder

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say for now!

2008-02-16T14:09:00.003-06:00

Ryker had his sonogram on Wed, 2/13. Thank goodness my mom was able to be there. There was *NO* way I could've taken care of Ronin and take care of Ryker during his sonogram. It went well. Ryker had to lie on his tummy. I tried to get him to play with toys so he'd be still but that didn't work. I finally nursed him and he was still! The sonographer was able to get the pictures that she needed. Mom took Ronin and took him visiting with her.

The sonogram showed that his spinal cord is fine. The Dr. went ahead and referred us to Scottish Rite because he is still not walking. I think she wants them to take a closer look. This may mean that he has to have an MRI. Plus, I've been concerned about his feet. When he cruises, his feet are turned out, which is not normal. His muscle tone is also tight, which the OT says he has no control over and is neurological. Not sure when that will happen.

On to happy stuff. Bill and I had our date night. Took the kiddos to my mom's house and we went out. We went out to dinner at Humperdink's, then went to Border's where I got the kids a book. Then went to Braum's and came back to get the boys! It was so nice to get out for a bit. We were able to have adult conversation, and to eat in peace without little beggars wanting our food.

Anyway, I guess that's all I have to say right now!

2008-02-06T11:19:00.000-06:00

So the boys are sick..yet again. This time, it's a stomach virus. I, myself, have been sick with this nasty virus. Just sucks that the boys have it now.

Last night SUCKED. Everything was normal until I heard Ronin crying at 9pm. I don't like letting them "cry it out". Good thing I don't. I went in his room and found him covered in vomit. So, I took him cleaned him up and Bill changed his sheets. I rocked him, and put him down. This happened again about 3x's. Then I heard Ryker crying. Checked on him and he too was covered in vomit. Same thing as I did with Ronin. FINALLY everyone was sleep around 2am. Bill was and is always awesome. We took "shifts". So, at least we were able to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Took the boys to their well baby visit. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my pediatrician. I was venting to her about the boys getting sick and how I felt that I was breastfeeding in vain. She said "Trust me, if they weren't, they'd be worse off". She said the best thing to do was to continue to nurse them as often as possible. It was SO nice to hear a pediatrician say this. Not only is she pro breastfeeding but she's pro extended breastfeeding!

She also said that usually, the first born kids don't get sick very often. Then, the second (or in my case, 2nd and 3rd) come along and they get sick more often than the first since their older sibling is either attending school or preschool etc. She said that since Kalynn has had 5 years of immunities, she can fight off whatever germs are in Kindergarten. She brings home the germs and the boys get sick since their immune systems aren't fully developed until they're 3. So, I felt better.

Ronin is doing awesome! He shot up in height but for weight, he fell off the chart. Dr isn't worried since this is pretty typical and plus he's been sick.

Now onto Ryker. I noticed that there was a strange hole on the top of his butt, right above his tail bone. So I mentioned it to the Dr. She said it's called a "pilonidal cyst". The problem with this is that his spinal cord can be tethered to this. Thus, causing motor delays ie. delays in walking (Ryker isn't walking, nor does he show ANY interest). Since the average child walks around 15 months, and they're 6 weeks premature, she's not TOO concerned. However, she is going to order a sonogram to see if his spinal cord is tethered. If it is, we'll have to see a neurosurgeon. As far as his noggin she was happy with his head growth but was still concerned about his prominent forhead. So, she also wants to get a sonogram of his skull to check the sutures. That should happen probably in the next week or so.

So, that's the news.

Molly: CONGRATS!! How exciting!!

My Life with Toddlers

2008-02-02T10:06:00.000-06:00

Toddler Rules

If it is on, I must turn it off.
If it is off, I must turn it on.
If it is folded, I must unfold it.
If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.
If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.I
f it is high, it must be reached.
If it is shelved, it must be unshelved.
If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.
If it has leaves, they must be picked.
If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.
If it is not trash, it must be thrown away
.If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.
If it is closed, it must be opened.
If it does not open, it must be screamed at.
If it has drawers, they must be rifled.
If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.
If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied.
If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.
If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.
If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.
If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.
If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried.
If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.
If it is paper, it must be torn
.If it has buttons, they must be pressed
.If the volume is low, it must go high.
If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.
If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.
If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.
If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.
If it is a phone, I must talk to it.
If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.
If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.
If it is not food, it must be tasted.
If it IS food, it must not be tasted.If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.
If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.
If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.

http://www.cuddlebugbabyproducts.com/html/toddler_rules.html

Toddler Rules of Possession:
1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

http://www.k-state.edu/wwparent/humor/rules.htm

2008-02-02T09:54:00.000-06:00

Busy week!!

This past week, Ryker got sick with the same junk that Ronin had. He too, started running 104 fever. I didn't bother calling the Dr since I knew it was the same virus that Ryker had. I still did freak out with the temps though..He got sick on Saturday but by Thursday he was better.

So, I have been contemplating finding a new job. It's really tight at the end of the month. So I applied at an aswering service. I used to work for one called Answertel. Another company bought out Answertel. I applied at the company that bought them out. A couple of the people who used to work there was still there. It was nice to catch up. One of the ladies said that I was all grown up LOL I worked there in my early 20's. Yeah, lots have changed since then..

Anyway, I go infor the interview. I know I totally blew it. But I aced the typing test (58wpm, and that was with me being nervous), and I'm sure aced the grammar and spelling tests. She said that they'd call me back for a 2nd interview but I don't know if it's one of those where they're bs'ing you or they were really going to call. This was Tuesday and haven't heard a word.

On one hand, I wouldn't be upset if I didn't get the job. I don't know that I'm ready to leave the boys. But on the other hand, it'd be nice to have the extra $$ and it'd only be 3 to 4 hours.

Friday, went out to lunch with my sister and mom at Red Lobster. It was delish. The boys of course made a huge mess. Then went back to my mom's and hung out there til was time to pick up Kalynn.

We finally got our gate!!! The way our house was, we had the big couch in front of the kitchen, and then their toy containers blocking off the walkway between the couch and the fireplace. Well, they ended up climbing into the containers, and escaping. Then we tried putting another container on top of the container already there but then they'd knock it over. So I spent all day getting little escapees. The problem with getting a gate was that the entrance to the kitchen is quite large and can't find one that would fit in that space. But we did find one and it's all set up. The boys have lots of room to play in! And we don't have to break our necks to do it!

One more thing, some exciting news from one of my good friends! She's pregnant! It'll be her 2nd baby. She's due in October. I'm really excited for her. And then, my best friend Cathy is pregnant as well! Cathy's due in July. Lots of babies!

2008-01-26T18:41:00.000-06:00

I'm such a slacker!

It's been crazy the past week. Ronin got some kind of virus that's been going on. Monday, he ran 104 temp. I FREAKED out and brought him to the Doctor. He had some virus and an ear infection. They did a flu swab but fortunately, it wasn't the flu. I had to put him on antibiotics. I was a bit annoyed because they were expensive and they WERE the generic. Uggh.

So, most of the entire week, he was very clingy, and cranky. It made it very hard to take care of Ryker too. Ronin nursed quite a bit (which is good), but Ryker had to nurse too. So, I spent most of my time nursing babies. Thursday, it got over 104. Again, I freaked out, and almost took him to the ER. But, I gathered my thoughts, and decided to give him a luke warm bath and ibuprofen.. That brought it down to 101. I also put a call in to the Dr. She called back and said that there was some kind of virus that's going around, that lasts for 3-4 days. If he still had a fever by Friday, to bring him back in. Fortunately, by Friday, he was MUCH MUCH MUCH better.

Well, that brings us to today.. Ryker is now running a fever. It's 101, but I really dont' want to go through another week of this.. Tomorrow is our friend's little boy's birthday but one of us has to stay behind if he's still sick.

On some good news, the boys are learning new things! They are learning more words. Ronin said "sister" yesterday. So far he can say "Mama, dada, sister, some, that, touchdown!". Ryker says "Mama, dada, that". I'm not sure if this is considered a word, but when we say touchdown!! He raises up his arms and says "Daaaaaah!!!"

It's so funny how their personalities differ. Ronin is more of a gentle little guy. He seems like he likes to take care of things. When he pets the kitty, he says "ohhh ohhh ohh" LOL Ryker however, likes to pummel them. If he sees my cat, he crawls over there, and then body slams her! Kitty's fine, she escapes. Unfortunately Ryker is also a biter. So, word to the wise, don't put any appendages near his mouth because he will chomp on them. And they are also fighting more. Some things they have 2 of, and they will STILL fight over it.

Kalynn is continuing to do well! We had her parent/teacher conference. She is making lots of progress and the teacher said that she is doing SO well with her meds. She's a different kid! Unfortunately, she's still where she's not supposed to be, so I think she will have to repeat Kindergarten. If she were to go to first grade, I think she'd be frustrated. So, I think we'll make it official in April. I'm kind of sad, that somehow I failed her, or I didn't do enough with her.

She also got her report card on Friday. MUUCH better. Her behavior was tons better and her academic progress as well.

Anyway, I better go.

2008-01-11T12:03:00.001-06:00

It's been a while! Nothing really exciting has been going on.

Kalynn is doing well on her meds. Her behavior chart is full of stamps instead of notes of what she did wrong during the day. She had an appt yesterday to evaluate and to get a refill. I asked the Dr. about catching up, and she said it'll probably be about 3-6 months until she'll start catching up. In order to pass Kindergarten, she has to be reading at a level "d". She's at a level "A" and it's January. Realistically, I don't think she'll be getting to a level D by June. I could be wrong though. I've already accepted the fact that she may have to repeat Kindergarten.

The boys are doing great! Just being boys! Ronin climbed up on the fire place and somehow fell down and cut his chin. I thought he may have needed stitches but it looks fine now! Both boys love to climb!

Ronin and Ryker are saying a few words. Ronin says some, that, "nah nah-s, (their word for nursing), mama, dada, what's that, and some others I can't think of right now. Ryker says nah nah-s, mama, dada, that and up. They definitely keep me busy during the day. I can't wait til their nap times!

Me, I'm doing ok. Trying to get back on track as far as losing weight. I lost 20 lbs but gained 5 of it in 2 months. Saturday and yesterday (Thursday) I went for a run. I have cut my food intake and have already lost a couple of lbs just from doing that.

Bill is doing well. He turned 39 on Tuesday!

I guess that's it. I don't have anything else exciting to say. Just same old same old.

Please!! Get your Child vaccinated!!!

2007-12-26T10:32:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6ylxWcwkUM

2007-12-26T10:16:00.000-06:00

Christmas is over!

I think this is one of the best Christmases in a long time.

Our house:
We all woke up around 6:15-6:30 (thanks to the boys). Kalynn loved her Barbie Dream house! It's pretty nifty. The door bell rings, the toilet flushes, the stove sizzles and there's music that plays. I wish I had that when I was younger! The boys enjoyed their gifts. I got them stackers and Elmo guitars. PUt the boys down for a nap and hung out here.

Mom's House:
Went to mom's house where we had breakfast. Good as always! I got the Beco I had been wanting for MONTHS. I finally got the hang of using it. I can't wait to use it! Kalynn got a lot of cool stuff. She got a Leapster and played that all day.

Aunt Barbara's house:
I was a little nervous since all the kids had been up super early. But I think for the most part, Kalynn did great. The boys were cranky but that was because they were tired.

Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas.

Kalynn LOVES her twin dolls. We set everything up for her last night. She's so motherly LOL This morning, she told me that her babies at all of their food.

I am wanting to go to Target and Kohl's..I want to try out my Beco and also shop for the boys. I love shopping.

I have TONS of pics, too many to post here.. So, I'll just past the album here:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AZNGTFi4atNg&notag=1

2007-12-23T20:04:00.000-06:00

It's been awhile since I last posted!!

Last Sunday, I had to take Ronin to the ER. He was running a fever and had trouble breathing. He scared the CRAP out of me. Usually, fevers don't really concern me. The fact that he was struggling to breathe and wasn't really moving around, DID concern me. So I went ahead and called the o/c Dr. She said to take him to the ER. Turns out he had RSV and an ear infection. Got rx for an antibiotic for the EI and steroids for his lungs. Unfortunately, by the time we got out, all the pharmacies close to us were closed. So, Bill had to fill them during his lunch break.

Anyway, he's SO much better. I'm really glad that I am nursing him. I think that if I hadn't nursed him, he would've ended up in the hospital. And I also think that's why he made a quick recovery. RSV can be very dangerous.

Kalynn's last day of school was Wed. She had been on her meds for a few days. It has made a HUGE difference. She got THREE good days in a row. She has NEVER had 3 good days in a row. She hasn't had any side effects, like decrease appetite, sleeplessnes, etc. She's not a zombie, she's not "doped up". She's just Kalynn.

Anyway, I guess that's it. I probably won't be back til after Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

2007-12-14T10:11:00.001-06:00

I don't have much time, but it's official, Kalynn has been diagnosed with ADHD. I saw this poem and loved this:

He's bouncin' off walls, a super ball gone insane,
He runs through your world like a off-rail freight train,
Interruptions are constant, tantrums galore,
When it's time to do homework, he's gone, out the door.

The drama is constant, oh his foot fell asleep,
He moans and he wails, the theatrics run deep,
School is a nightmare, the teachers are lost,
If they only could see, he is worth the cost.

He is brighter than most, as most kids are,
And with patience and love, I know he'll go far,
But what I must take from well meaning friends
Don't let him do that.
Oh these rules that he bends.

You're not a good parent.
Your child's really rude.
His temper's Outrageous.
He has hands in his food.
He hears this and wonders, just what's wrong with me?

I tell him, You're special, you have A.D.H.D.
Now A.D.H.D. is a gift from above,
It teaches us grown-ups how to strengthen our love.It helps to teach your teachers, no two kids are the same.
You have awesome energy that could bring you great fame.

You don't need much sleep, you never wear down.
You're silly and funny, when you act like a clown
.You've felt lots of pain from what people have said,
But you pray for those people when you go to bed.

So you try every day to make a fresh start,
For God gifted you with an extra big heart.
As I look at my child, he sees through my soul,
My heart feels like busting, as I realize my goal.

I know this boy like no one else could,
He's a blessing to me, he's strong and he's good.
So I'll love him and guide him through the worst of the worst
,And he'll make a great man (if I don't kill him first).

I'm kidding of course 'cause I know what's to be,
When I look in his eyes, I see a reflection of me.

2007-12-08T14:32:00.000-06:00

Don't have time to do a full update, but wanted to drop off this, courtesy of Bill LOL

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1242999033

Check it out, teehee

2007-12-06T10:13:00.000-06:00

Before we left for the parade.

Waiting to get on the float

The Girl Scout float.. Christmas tree is made out of GS cookie boxes

Kalynn on the float

Ronin

Ryker

That's it!

2007-12-06T09:39:00.000-06:00

Morning!

Haven't blogged in a few days..my life is entirely too boring to blog about anyway..

Let's see..Sunday, we went to go help decorate the float, but the float itself wasn't ready yet. So, the girls played a few games and then we went home. Monday, was the parade (I have pics, will get those posted here in a few). Mom came out, which I was so grateful for. Kalynn was SOOOO happy. I didn't mention to her that mom may come out because I wasn't positive yet. So, imagine the surprise when she saw her Mimi! The parade was a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. It was really neat though. Kalynn did well, I was afraid that she might freak out about being on the float without me near her. But she did fine!

Ronin and Ryker have become quite the little beggars. I go to my bf'ing support meeting every Tuesday. We have snacks there. Ronin will walk up to one of the ladies and stand there waiting for food. Aimee is too sweet, she always obliges. This past time, she had both boys with her! One of the little girls was eating a cheese stick. Ronin goes over there and takes a bite..It's funny and embarassing, but fortunately, the other moms are very understanding.

Today, Kalynn has her GS meeting. I volunteered to stay and bring drinks. Saturday, Kalynn has her Cinderella puppet show. I'm going with her, I don't feel comfortable with her going to Fair Park without me..

Anyway, will be back with pics..

2007-11-28T21:03:00.000-06:00

Ronin and Ryker are little escape artists! I have my livingroom "twin proofed". I have the large sofa blocking the kitchen. Then I have 2 buckets blocking the walk way between the fireplace and the sofa so he can stay out of the kitchen. Both boys figured out that they can simply push the bucket and get out. Uggh...And on top of that, Ronin has discovered the joy of climbing. He climbs everywhere. I wanted to get them something they can climb out but it's too expensive.

Today, for some reason, Ryker had a slight fever. He was SUPER cranky so I gave him Tylenol (I usually hate giving them medicine). He was able to take a nap.

Kalynn is going to be in a parade on Monday! She's going to help decorate the parade on Sunday and then the parade itself is Monday evening. She won't be on the actual float, she'll be in the trailer behind it. And of course, I'll have my camara.

OH I did want to mention one thing..I was SHOCKED that I didn't gain any weight over Thanksgiving. I ate like a PIG!! I wonder if it's still because of breastfeeding. Fine with me!

OK, I'm going to try to get one of the escapees in bed.

2007-11-26T17:12:00.000-06:00

I'm done with my sling! At first I thought it was too short, but maybe it's ok?

Here's my sling with Ronin:

Kalynn has declared that next Thanksgiving, we need to kill our own turkey and cook it...

2007-11-24T09:04:00.000-06:00

SCORE!!! I got Bum Genius diapers for $10!!!! Granted they were 2nds, but still great! Usually, BG's go for $18. And now that 3.0's are coming out, they've been $15. So $10 for them is pretty dern good!

Still waiting on my rings so I can finish my sling. If I like it, I may make me another sling out of cotton.

Last night was pretty good. Kalynn "helped" me do dishes. She was very proud of herself. After that, I gave her some hot cocoa. Lately, she's been wanting to sleep with us. With her being 5, I know that this can turn into a bad habit that will be hard to break later..I don't know what the deal with that is. But she does go to her bed and shortly falls asleep.

Random thought..Santa Clause is coming to Walmart here!!!! Which means...I don't have to fight the crazy crowds at the mall 30 min away!! Woohoo!!

2007-11-23T10:33:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is over! I can't believe it's already over!

It was a good time. Stuffed ourselves silly. Went to Aunt Linda's house first and then to mom's. My best friend Cathy and her mom came over for a bit, which was nice. It sucks she lives in IL..She said she probably won't come back til April.

Then this morning, Kim and I went to Walmart. We got there around 4:45am. Fortunately, it's just up the street. They had a few things I wanted to get, which I did. I was really impressed this morning. I always hear about the jerks who are rude, grab things from other people, etc. Well, I am very happy to say that this was not the case here! Everyone was courteous and polite. One of the customers even helped me find a size for the boys! AFter that, we just went home. I decided not to go to JoAnn's because I was tired. Went back home and went to sleep.

I can't believe the week has gone by so fast. Monday, everyone goes back to work and school.

Right now I'm just perusing CD (cloth diaper!) stores. I would LOVE to get some more...I so wish that there was a store close to me. There's a bunch in Houston apparently. I'm also eyeing some Mei Tais..Baby Hawk or Kozy..Ahh well.

Alrighty, I guess I'll go..

2007-11-20T22:23:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited about Thanksgiving!! I love this time of year. I'm even more excited that it's going to be COLD!!!! I'm so tired of this 80 degree weather.

Still waiting on my rings for my ring sling. I need to hem up the sides again. If I like the way it turns out, I may make another one, except made with cotton broadcloth.

I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but the boys LOVE the Wiggles. Ronin has begun to do his own dance. It's SO cute. Ronin will cock his head to one side (I think he's trying to nod his head side to side to the beat of the music) and then turn around in circles. It's SO cute. Of course, he falls right on his little tush.

The day after Thanksgiving, I think I am going to go to JoAnn's. They have flannel for .99/yard which is GOOD. Regular price is $5.99/yard and on sale it's $2.99/yard. It's only til noon I think. I think Kim and I are going to go. It's going to be a mad house. I think I may go to Walmart too, to get a head start on Christmas for the kids. I am SOOOO excited about Christmas this year. They're still too little to realize what's going on, but it'll still be fun.

2007-11-17T18:46:00.000-06:00

Dang, it's been awhile!! Well, what happens is that I start to post and then I get distracted..

Last weekend, Lisa and I ran a 5K at Whiterock. Friday night I went and spent the night at mom's house. Then Lisa and I went to the 5K, with a few little bitty glitches..Let's just say Pole 1 Lisa's Car 0 . Had a little bit of trouble finding the race but we finally found it. We ran the whole thing. Last time, we walked a little bit. We ran it in 38 min which was a bit slower than our last 5K.

That night, Kalynn had her Girl Scout camp. At the last minute, Bill decided he'd go and stay with her. I had planned on dropping her off, so I'm glad Bill decidedto go with her. From what I heard, she had fun! Stuffed herself with Smores!

The kids had some kind of stomach virus that has been going around. Last Friday, Kalynn ended up staying home because she was puking and had diarrhea. But no fever. Ronin had diarrhea but no fever and no vomiting. Ryker had it a bit worse, he vomiting and diarrhea. Thank goodness they're nursing, that was the only thing that Ryker could keep down (FYI: info about nursing and vomiting/diarrhea: http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/baby-illness.html#vomiting; http://www.kellymom.com/newman/09a-illness_mother_baby.html#baby)
And of course, I gave them the BRAT diet (after Ryker stopped puking for 24 hours) and that worked great as well. So, they're all better.

Thursday, mom and I went to lunch, which was nice. It was nice to get out of the house. I felt totally stupid. I had mentioned that she was going to watch the kids this Friday but I totally misunderstood her..But she's going to watch them tomorrow.

Today, my friend Kim and I went to JoAnn's. I got some fabric to make my own ringsing: http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/sling.html
I got some brocade fabric and then got the sling rings at slingrings.com
Hopefully, it'll turn out nice!

Anyway, I better jet.

2007-11-05T20:52:00.000-06:00

Evening!

Well, we haven't had hot water since yesterday. I had to take a shower over at my friend's house down the street. And I went and did the boys' diapers over there too. Bill's been taking cold showers. He's CRAZY. I love my showers nice and really hot. But, the good thing is that it will hopefully be fixed tomorrow.

Today the boys had therapy. Ronin has been discharged! He was receiving OT for oral motor but he's doing so well that the OT went and ahead and discharged him. Ryker will continue to get services though. She evaluated them and said that Ryker is on target for speech but behind on motor skills (which of course we already knew). Ronin is on target for everything and even a little ahead with speech!

During their therapy, the case manager was asking questions about their eating habits and yes, I'm still nursing. She said "Oh, they're nursing for comfort and it has little nutritional value". I laughed and said "It's not like breastmilk turns to water after a year, of course it's still nutritional" Uggh, I'm just so aggravated with the misinformation out there on breastfeeding in general.

I also decided to take down our play area. I had a gated area that they played in. But Ronin is walking and I think he needs more room to walk around. So, I rearranged the furniture where the big couch is in front of the kitchen. It's worked out well so far. I've had to vaccuum several times to get everything up because it seemed like they were picking up the most minute particles and putting it in their mouths.

That is one of my favorite must have for my boys. It was awesome while it lasted! But, I think Ronin needed more room to move around.

Anyway, I guess that's it! Time for me to go to bed..Hopefully.

2007-11-04T08:54:00.000-06:00

Morning!

The rest of the week was ok I guess. Kalynn had Daisy Scouts. This coming up weekend is her camp out. They're not spending the night. I was a bit nervous because I won't be going with her since I've got to go home and take care of the boys. I had a really bad experience at camp when I was younger (it was the Baptist Church version of girl scouts). So, even though she wasn't going to spend the night, I was still a bit nervous. But after talking to other GS moms and the GS leader I am feeling more comfortable with it. But, she'll get to earn a patch! Also, the girls are going to be in a Christmas parade, I THINK here in town. They're going help decorate a float. Then they have a puppet show to go to in Dallas, which I MAY go because I don't know if I feel comfortable to let someone else drive her.

Friday didn't do anything, except go run. Yesterday didn't do anything except go run. Today I need to clean the house and do laundry and go run. That same weekend as Kalynn's camp out is the 5K that Lisa and I will be going to.

Need to go run a few times this week.

2007-11-01T07:58:00.000-06:00

Ok! It's working!
More downtown

TOT'ing around our neighborhood

2007-11-01T07:34:00.001-06:00

Downtown!

OK, I'll have to add some more later. The uploader dealie isn't working again.

2007-11-01T07:15:00.001-06:00

Pictures are going to have to wait I guess...the picture uploader deal is not working..

I forgot to mention that I dislike disposable diapers!!! Ronin has a rash that I have to use antibiotic cream with but I can't use CD's. So, I'm having to use disposables..Uggh, I hate them. I'll be so happy when I go back to them.