Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from our monsters to yours! 

A helping hand

People often ask us how the girls are with each other.  We generally give a pretty standard answer.  They are truly the best of friends.  But, they are also the worst of enemies.  They get a long amazingly, but like any other two people, they have their limits and need their space.

They always have each other's best interest at heart.  Always willing to lend a helping hand.  They both tend to take care of their sister before they take care of themselves.  For example, if one of them is getting their milk cup, frequently they will get their sisters and deliver it first, then come back for their own.  Little things like this happen all of the time.  They have a bond that we will never come close to understanding.  

On a recent morning, A had unzipped her jacket (a normal, everyday adventure).  L decided she was going to help A zip it back up.  It was absolutely adorable.  A just stood there watching her sister try to help her out.

 

Seeing little things like this make me very excited to watch them grow and develop a deeper friendship with each other.

Fit Friday: The beginning

Contrary to what having a blog may seem, I am not one to put every aspect of my life out there for eveyrone's pleasure, enjoyment, curiousity, etc.  However, I think sometimes putting things out there can be the motivation to change one's life.  A kick in the pants, if you will.  Well, a kick in the pants is exactly what I need.

With all of the recent "activities" in my family, I am freaking a little.  I need to make sure I am here for a long time for my girls.  So basically, I am on a quest to get healthier.  Right now, I answer to just me.  Do you know how easy it is to lie to yourself or make excuses to yourself?  Yeah, too easy.  So, putting it all (well, not all) out there, I can't really make exscuses anymore. 

I am going to start what I will call "Fit Friday" as a way be accountable for my life and the things that I need to do.  I have one goal in mind: lead a healthier lifestyle for myself and my girls.  What exactly does all of this entail, well I am still trying to figure all of that out.  I think if I lay out goals for each week, that will help.  If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear! 

Week 1 goals:

* Take vitamins everyday (I am anemic and don't take care of that)

* Cut back on the quantity of M&M's consumed.  <---Yeah, that will be hard!

Wish me luck!

"She drives me crazy"

I think the girls are telling me they are ready for their license.  Just a minor technicality that they can't reach the pedals or see over the steering wheel.

Should I be concerned that A tried to lock me out of the car?

When it's L's turn to climb into the car (we take turns every day), she is more interested in the snack cups that I keep. 

Worldess Wednesday: A look back

Taking a look back to when our wild and crazy girls were just a month old.

Today, they are still trying to squeeze into the smallest spaces together.

A possible link?

I saw a report yesterday (thanks Facebook friends) stating that Hylands Teething tablets are being recalled due to varying amounts of belladona in the pills.  One of the possible side affects of this is seizures.  Although, I believe when we have used the tablets we did so in accordance to the instruction, it is something that I am going to bring up at our next epileptologist appointment.  Since we still do not have an answer for the girls epilepsy, I want to investigate every possible angle I can.  Unfortunately I did not keep records of when the girls had the drop attacks and anything they may have eaten, drank or ingested prior to the seizures.  

The reality is that this probably does not have a link to what we are dealing with, but everything is worth looking into.  Seriously though, how awesome would it be if that is what was causing the seizures?  Well, maybe awesome isn't the right word, but it would be an answer!

You can read more information about the recall here.

Any given Sunday

Saturday's in our house are very busy between soccer and running errangs.  So, we try to make Sunday's as low-key and stress free as possible.  Well, as stress-free and low-key a small house with two high energy

toddlers can be. 

This past Sunday was no exception.  Since it was the last day our local apple orchard was open, we decided to take advantage and get some pumpkins and apples.  The girls were not too sure of the pumpkin patch when we first started out.  Maybe it was because they were sound asleep in the car.  Then A saw the tractor and that is all she focused on.  The child LOVES tractors. 

After the pumpkin patch, we picked up some apples and headed home.  It was time for lunch and nap.  In normal fashion, the girls slept for about 30 minutes.  But, unlike normal, the girls curled up on the couch with momma and fell back to sleep.  It was AWESOME!  It has been so long that they have let me curl up with them and stayed still.  I was not complaining.  Adam also took the opportunity to catch up on his sleep. 

Once the girls woke up, it was time for more fun!  We parked their high chairs in the kitchen so that they could help me make an apple pie.  Since apples are a staple in the house, the corer/peeler/slicer is always attached to the counter.  The girls like watching that and sometimes do a little dance when I am turning it.  They took turns stirring the ingredients for me. 

Once the pie was in the oven and filling the house with amazing aroma, it was time to carve our pumpkins.  It has been so long since I carved a pumpkin, I almost forgot where to begin.  I definitely forgot how much work it was!

 

Once carving was done, it was time for our family Sunday dinner.  Pizza and football!  Every Sunday, we move the girls into the living room for dinner and all enjoy pizza while we watch football.

We ended the day with the lighting of our pumpkins.  What a perfect Sunday. 

"Bend it like Beckham"

 

We decided to start the girls in a soccer program earlier this month.  I know what you are thinking, soccer already?  Yup.  The program starts at 18 months and runs for 6 weeks.  It's a parent participation program and is more like "organized play" with a few soccer balls thrown in.  

I enjoyed running around with the girls and really seeing their personalities come out.  L, like normal, was a little more reserved and quiet.  She was a slower to start and get into the activities.  A, she observed for a minute and then jumped right in.  She really takes to it and dribbles like a star!

Putting them in soccer is helping them with their gross motor skills, listening and following direction.  They do jumping jacks, arm stretches, run around like airplanes, dribble, and kick goals.  After all of that, they get to crawl through a tunnel and play with the big soccer balls.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of pictures.  When they say "parent participation" they mean PARENT PARTICIPATION.  Adam and I came out sweating!

What's in a name?

Choosing a name for your child is hard.  It's not only a personal choice, but it is also something that you want to make sure fits the child and, in my opinion, is timeless.  When we were "shopping" for names, we decided to first consult the Bible.  We only wanted first names that were Bible names.  We felt that those were classic, timeless names.  From there, it was choosing names that either we liked or had special meaning to us.  

Telling people the name (or names) you have chosen for your child before the birth is a personal choice.  Some people choose not to so that they don't have to listen to the opinions.  Me, I am a strong person.  I didn't care.  I was proud and excited.  I couldn't wait to tell the world.

We chose the name Abigail because it is something that both of us really liked (after dismissing a lot of names that one of us liked, but not the other).  Her middle name is a family name.  Her middle name comes from Adam's side.

Elizabeth's middle name came from my side of the family.  Her first name, that was a little harder.  More so for me, than for Adam.  First, it is a Bible name.  From there, it is not only a name that we like, it will always hold a special place in my heart.  Elizabeth is the middle name of Godmother/Aunt Jane.  Sadly, my Aunt lost her battle with cancer two years ago.  Today is her birthday in Heaven.  I had really wanted to tell my Aunt that I was pregnant before she passed, but didn't have the chance.  I am sure she would have been happy for us.  

A year and a half after choosing those names, I am still in love with them!  Not just the name, but the person holding them as well. 

Bear Down!

Are you ready for some football!

Daddy found Bears shirts for the girls the other day, so of course they had to wear them!  Unfortunately, they had to wear them on Sunday even though the Bears play tonight.

Here is a look back at last year, opening day:

What a difference a year makes!

And finally, here is a quick shot of how things REALLY occur in our household:

The hardest part

The hardest part of the girls having epilepsy is the worry.  I don't worry about the life they will lead or having limits in the future.  The "perk" about diagnosing early is that they will never know any different.  Also, we are determined to ensure that they live a life as normal as possible and never feel like they have to miss out on something because of this.  No, I worry about every day, every movement, every noise. Did they get their medicine? Are they on the right dose?  Is the medicine the right thing?  Even more, I worry about the root cause.

Unfortunately, as of right now, we have no answers for their epilepsy.  Neither side of the family has a history or seizures or epilepsy.  Neither of the girls have anything going on in their brains that would disrupt the "flow" causing the seizures.  And because I have a habit of over-thinking, analyzing and worrying, I can't stop thinking about their birth.  They were 6 weeks early and did not need any oxygen.  Did not giving them oxygen cause the epilepsy?  Should they have gotten it?  I know that I can't go back and get a do-over or any answers.  I also know that I have to trust the wonderful NICU doctors and nurses at the hospital.  But hey, I am a mom.  They are my babies.  I worry that I did something wrong that caused this.  If only I could have left them cooking for longer, maybe they wouldn't have to live with this.

A and L have what is called "drop attacks."  So, when I say that they have seizures, it is not what you see on t.v.  The fall to the ground and shake.  A's have always been really slight and L's a little more dramatic.  But, many people probably wouldn't have noticed them.  Shot, for awhile I didn't recognize them as seizures.  Because of this, I feel like we are very sensitive to every movement they make.  If they had the stereotypical seizure, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.  Maybe I wouldn't be second guessing every movement they make.  As it is now, every time I see them move their head or stare into space I wonder "was that a seizure?"  

And oh my goodness, when they are sleeping, forget about it!  I can hear them on the monitor and I hear them move or make a whimper.  Immediately I freeze and listen.  Is everything o.k.?  I know in my head that they are just tossing and turning.  Tell that to my heart and my irrational side. 

Right now, we are just kinda stuck in limbo with their epilepsy.  They continue to take the medication twice-a-day.  That in itself is an adventure.  They continue to be, what we think, seizure free.  We will continue on with the medication until the Spring of 2012 (that's so far away!) then wean them off and see what happens.  That is scary.  

These are my babies.  I want to make sure I can give them the best of everything and give them the best life possible.  If could take this away from them, I would.  But it is part of who they are. I may not always be the best mom and I may not always make the decisions that others may think I should, but I am their mom.  I will always do my best for them. 

Toys = I need a bigger house

The girls are getting so bored with the toys that they have.  They have been playing with many of the same ones for at least 6 months.  I have added a couple of things over the summer, but nothing major.  I feel bad for them.  But, I have no idea what toys to get them.  The other issue is that I have a small house with limited space for toys while still allowing room for the girls to run around. Since Christmas is approaching fast, I don't want to go out and buy toys now.  But, I have been trying to do a lot of thinking about what toys to ask for them. 

At daycare, they love playing with the baby dolls and little doll strollers.  Recently, they wrapped the babies in blankets, told them "ni-ni" and put them to bed.  I think they would also enjoy a toy kitchen, but it needs to be a narrow one to fit against the wall in a small space.

Help!  I need lots of suggestions for small, but fun, toys for two year olds.  I say two because their birthday is shortly after Christmas.  

Let's see, what else do they like.  They love talking on the phone.  They love books.  Puzzles are so-so at this point.  They really just enjoy dumping all the pieces off. 

Will you read to me?

We have two little girls who LOVE to read books.  Actually, love is a gross understatement.  Given the opportunity, they would sit there and be read to or read on their own all day.  Our little book worms.

What was your favorite childhood book? What is (or was) your child's favorite book?

The current favorite in my house which is seriously read four or five times, by each of us, every day:

Other past fav's:

Mommy's favorite book of the girls: