Back to school...

...as FIRST GRADERS!







We have had a few snafus in regards to bussing, which I sort of expected. In our town, they are replacing a bridge over a major 4 lane highway and of course, we live on the other side of the bridge. So, we received our bussing instructions with a pick up time for during "construction".

On the first day of school, we were up early and pretty much ready to go. We had a good breakfast (Country Breakfast Casserole) and allowed time for pictures. We were in the midst of them and the girls told me they heard the bus. I told them no. Just a bit later, they told me again that they heard the bus and I told them again, noooo, it can't be the bus. It was too early. Well, it was the bus and it proceeded to go whizzing by. The girls were REALLY upset and wanted to ride the bus. So, I went back inside (after they ran out after it) and called the bus garage. I told them the bus came 20 minutes early and did they want me to bring them to school or what? (And this was 20 minutes before our "construction time" which was 20 minutes before our normal time). She proceeded to radio the driver and told him to go back and pick them up! YAY! Happy smiles all around.





I told some friends about this who live in larger suburban school districts and they told me they could tell I lived in a small town. That would never happen there. It would be more like: Who are you? You want us to do what? Hahahahahaha...

So, it took a few days, but I think we're all on track with the bus pick ups and drop offs now.

We just finished week two and the girls tell me that first grade is even "more funner" than Kindergarten! They love school and love their teachers! I can't believe what a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, we were deep in the adjustment process of kindergarten, a new school, being separated, etc. and pretty much every day somebody or both somebodies cried. It took weeks to really get the swing of things. At first I thought a lot had to do with the separation of twins, but then I realized it wasn't just that, it was just adjusting to Kindergarten in general as well.

THIS year has been like night and day. For the first few days, I'd have conversations with them after school (well, I do that every day) but, I was trying to see how things were going, were there any tears, etc. Nope, no tears. I was asking specifically about lunch and recess, because last year when they'd see each other at lunch, they'd both burst into tears and say, "I'm just happy to see my sister!" They would tell you that RECESS was their favorite part of school because they could see and play with each other. Now, talking with them those first couple days, I was confused. It didn't seem like they knew what they did during recess. So I asked them, "Don't you play with each other at recess?" Uh...no...was the answer. WOW! WOW! WOW! Since then, they have played with each other, but if they don't, it's not the end of the world anymore.

I'm just SO excited about this. As much as I love their sibling and twin bond (and it is STRONG), I really encourage them to do their own thing. I want them to have their own friends and if they want to do different activities, I'm all for it. That's not happened yet, but they do have different likes and interests so I would hope that by gaining some independence from each other, they will spread their wings even further and do some more things on their own.

I'm certain that day will come...but we're not there yet.

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Next update: Scenes from Summer!

It's good to be back!

A new family member...

I'm hoping to have a bit more time to catch up as soon as the school year is done. Ha! I'm living in a fantasy world.

I realized that I've never posted about Lindsey's first lost tooth, about our Florida vacation, about so many things.

One thing in particular, we are now a dog family! Please welcome our new adopted family member, Brewster!

The day we got him (back around April 1):



Settling in...



FINALLY! A fresh grooming! I didn't realize he was so scraggly! Isn't he handsome?





He's been doing so good! He's about 2.5 years old and was an owner surrender. Apparently he was a replacement for a previous mini-schnauzer that died, and shortly after they got him, they decided they didn't like him and he wasn't the same as their old pet. DUH! He's very well-behaved (well, except for the barking, but we knew this about the breed). He's housetrained and crate trained. Absolutely NO complaints there! He's sweet and just wants to be by you. We do need to get some training though and try to work on the barking a bit. Luckily, we have a lot of barky dogs in the neighborhood, so he fits right in!

I recently saw something that Sydney had written in school. It said, "If I had $100.00, I would_____________. She filled it in with "I would buy a dog." When I asked her about it the other day, she said her WISH came TRUE! I'm glad we succumbed to the kid pressure of getting a pet! LOL! Oh, and the non-shedding bit is awesome! I'll take the grooming with the non-shedding any day!

Three days of school left before summer vacation! I'm off to my last day of volunteering this year. Back in a flash!

Please help!

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

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

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

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

We really do need your help!

Turn up your volume!

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

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

Thank you from all of us!

Two weeks post-Strabismus surgery

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

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

~Seth~

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

A Mother to her Child

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

*Martha Snell Nicholson, c 1951

Success!

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

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



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





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







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

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

Time for Surgery...

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

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

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

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

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

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