mommy23miracles

Summer 2011

2011-07-24T08:34:00.001-07:00

Alright so it's been a LONG time since I've posted. We've been a little bit busy. Summer has been great to us. What an amazing year for us!!!! Check it out!!!

We went to Idlewild and Soak Zone for the weekend!

Landon, the first and only time he went down the kids water slide. The water was freezing cold!

Stylin' in the Choo Choo Wagon...

We LOVE the water!!!

Showing off the "door to his heart".... Peyton loves the water.

Brenden playing in the water.

We played in the water at home...alot!

The twins turned 5....a whole hand - finally!
We had a birthday party with family and friends!

We got new bikes for our birthday!

Me and the cutest chicky in the world....

Landon had his "girlfriend" over and gave her a ride in his Jeep and in his 4 wheeler!

AND....

Brenden and Peyton got a Mohawk...

We've done tons more too.....now I just have to have the time to upload MORE pictures!

The day the boys got to wear their "handsome" shirts...

2010-12-18T19:16:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

O-H-I-O

2010-11-12T15:09:00.001-08:00

... Just sayin' ....

Disney Day 3 - Animal Kingdon

2010-10-12T06:32:00.000-07:00

Okay so time got away from me and I never posted the rest of our Wish trip. So...hold on tight, we're heading towards Animal Kingdom today.

We woke up bright and early. The previous day we had went to bed late and hadn't gotten to play with any of our new stuff from the Magic Kingdom. So while I got ready to go, the boys all played with their newest additions to our family (of toys). Our Mr. Potato Heads. Landon...he picked a Fairy. He really liked her - after meeting all the fairies. He picked wings, a wand, high heel shoes, a hair piece that looks like tinkerbells, ears with earrings and more! Brenden picked out Disney stuff like ears and mickey shoes and a pirate patch with Mickey on it. In the first pic, you'll notice the boys, and Tinker-potatohead looking for the little lizards in the dirt.

We got new Mickey Mouse hats too! They each picked a new one out and were so excited to wear them the next morning. (Oddly enough, we cant seem to find the third one. We searched the whole condo and it was gone :-( ).

Next, we headed to the common area at GKTW to meet more Disney Characters. The kids were so excited to see Bell again. She was the Princess that Brenden fell in love with and she remembered them from the day before! She said "I saw you three handsome princes in Toon Town didn't I?" and they were so excited they could hardly talk!

After we talked to Bell, we headed on to meet Pluto and Goofy.
So much do to! We hadn't even eaten breakfast yet! Did I ever tell you that at GKTW, you can eat ice cream any time of the day? Well you can! So we were off to the Ice Cream shop to eat breakfast because that's what the kids wanted.

Alright, so I didn't let them eat icecream but we did have some great scrambled eggs and bacon and toast there! Landon got to ride on the Merry Go Round Rocking Horse! This was so neat! Next, we headed to the actual Carousel to ride as many times as we wanted to. That meant like 5 times.
We also checked out some of the decorations on our way back to the condo.

And finally, we were off! Headed to Animal Kingdom for the 3rd Amazing day!

This Mountain we could see from the parking lot on the way in. It's called Expedition Everest and its actually a roller coaster ride (we were too little to ride it). Apparently it's guarded by a Yeti!

This was a beautiful place. It was based on safari type stuff. Even Mickey was dressed in Safari gear. Don't worry you'll see that later.

The boys checking out the Flamingos. "Look! Pink Birds!"

Above is an anteater! Bush in the middle and anteater on the left.

This is the Tree of Live. There are 325 animals carved into it as well as a hidden Mickey! Its like the tree in the Lion King that Rafiki lives in but way larger! Under it was a theater. It was playing " A Bugs Life 3D". Just saying...we're afraid of 3D. We left in the middle of the movie. OOPS! Moving on...

Next up was Dino Land. The bridge into this section was a huge dinosaur fossil.

The Dino Land was set up like a small carnival and they had rides for little guys. Mom and I took the kids on a flying dino one. It was so hot standing in line but...the ride squirted water! I tried to take a picture of Peyton and I on the ride. Didn't work the greatest but...

Dino Rama was a huge spinning coaster but we were an inch too short to ride it. Well, the boys were.

Next we headed to Asia where there was an awesome water ride for the kids. It was one of the ones that has the huge raft and you ride with about 8 people. The kids had a blast. The setting around and in the water ride were amazing! Check it out! There was a monkey that lived in this part below and the rags and towels hung out looked so neat all along the streets in the Asian Section.

Since the kids cant have artificial colors, it was hard finding cold drinks for them other than water and they had pretty much exausted their "want" for water. In Asia, when the kids and I had walked off on our own, we found a Coke Icee Stand. It was in this neat little building and was decorated with an Asian influence.

Next, we were heading to the new Nemo show. We came across this little fountain in a little hole in the wall area. Not may people were around when we found it so the boys took advantage of it and dipped their heads in to get cool.

Once we left, there were tons of people that had stopped to see why the kids were laughing and giggling so much. They decided to do the same.

Next it was off to see Nemo but not before stopping by a sign that I think was made for Dad.

(It says: Dusy old bones gettin' ya'll down?")

And....onto Nemo! (The Musical)

We had something like a fast pass. It was an all access pass to all the attractions at the park. Any ride or attraction the kids wanted to go on, they were able to jump right to the front of the line and some they were even aloud to go on the ride two or three times in a row!

After the show (which it was way to dark in to get pictures...), we headed for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe'. Before we could get there, we had to stop and meet a few Characters. I cant tell you how excited the kids were to see Lilo and Stitch. They RAN to them and hugged them!

Next we met Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Peyton had an issue with lifting his shirt for every single picture that we took with a character. Not sure where this will head but... On our way out, we found Goofy, Mickey and Pluto as well as Donald Duck (on the other side) doing some fishing....

Finally we could head to the Rainforest Cafe'. I'd eaten at one before but the kids and my parents never had. They dont have them around us so I was sure to make reservations that morning when we got there for dinner before we left.

The fish in the tank of the left would continuously swim around the bottom. No stopping...nothing, just swimming. (Swimming swimming just keep swimming).

About every 20 minutes, the lights would turn down and the whole resteraunt would get dark and lightening would flash and you would hear thunder. The elephants, all obviously moved by computerized parts, would stop their feet and trumpet their trunks. This FREAKED the kids out and we had to move seats at first. Peyton made it halfway through dinner and passed out in his high chair.

So Grandma look the sleepy kiddos outside and Mommy went shopping in the store at the Rainforest.
Landon posing...little did he know what was creeping up beside him.

(A Leezaard!)

Finally we headed back to GKTW.

Because it was Christmas in July there and each Thrusday, the kids were able to select presents and sit on Santa's lap. We also got to go swimming...again! They loved it.

(The little girl in the picture above turned 7 on this day. I couldn't tell you what she had becasue I don't know but she was feistier than my boys all put together! Santa did a cute wish thing with her using a "star". It was great!)

I love these pictures from the pool. The kids loved it and would have spent all day there if we let them.

Surfs Up!!!

Give Kids the World...what an AMAZING place.

Finally, we called it a night...after a whole Disney Park, eating at The Rainforest Cafe' and meeting our favorite Disney characters, sitting on Santa's lap at Christmas in July and swimming. What a day!

Disney Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

2010-08-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

Day Two Disney World - Magic Kingdom

First off, I would just like to state what a pain in the butt the parking to Disney Magic Kingdom was. It took half an hour to get from our car to the park! We parked in the lot and took the "tram" to the "monorail" and the "monorail" to the Park. In between the tram and the monorail, we had to buy the spare ticket for my parents. It was a trip and a half to get to the park! Totally worth it though! Check out the pics (I took over 1,000 ::blushing::)

The Monorail - This went from the tram drop of station through a hotel on the Disney Resort Property and onto the park. The kids loved it!

Brenden holding on in the Monorail.

Main street USA from the entrance to the park. The very front of Disney World's Magic Kingdom.

Main Street Parade

Our first stop, the Disney Train Ride...( so not the name of the ride but it's along those lines)

Main Street USA from the Train Station - Cinderella's Castle is straight down the center.

Peyton made it about half way around the train ride. First ride of the park and he's already passed out...that tells you how our day was.

When we got off of the train, as we were walking up Main Street, we were stopped by a small band playing a tune.

Cinderellas' Castle

Mr. Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland

The Winnie the Pooh Ride, we sat in a Honey Pot and rode around listening to the story of Winnie the Pooh.

Tigger and Pooh the first time Pooh met Tigger

Pooh using a balloon to try and get to the honey out of the bee hive.

Moving on we went to Mickeys Toon Town

We stopped by Mickey's house...

...checked out his pumpkins...

...and his tomatoes.

Then we headed over to check out the Princesses and Fairies at the Toon Town Fair.

Sleeping Beauty

Cinderella - Peyton went back for a hug on his own. He really liked her.

Belle (Beauty and the Beast), she asked the boys if she could bring the beast over to their castle one night. They were confused and Brenden and Landon both said "We don't live in a castle!"

Next, it was off to meet the Fairies from Tinkerbell. The boys had to "shrink down" to fairy size. Everything in the rooms were larger!

The boys met the fairy Silvermist first. She was so nice to them. I think that Landon fell in love instantly, he gave her a kiss on his own.

Next we moved onto Tinkerbell. She tapped them on the shoulder and hid.

The last fairy we met was Rosetta. She was so nice to them. She asked them where they were from and they said Ohio. When they told her that we flew to Florida from Ohio, she told them that their wings must be tired. The picture above caught Brenden with his hands up saying "But we don't have wings! We flew on an airplane!"

By the time we left the fairies, each boy had lip prints on his forehead from Rosetta kissing them on their forehead. They weren't too impressed.

On our way out, as we tried to navigate through the crowds of people to get out before the Magical Light Parade, we caught sight of the castle and the Magic Light Parade. There were way to many people to actually get a spot for the kids to see the parade but we got a few pictures on the way out and they got to see it as we passed by. I love this parade! I think the music was fun and the lights are so neat.

Wow...what an update!

2010-07-18T16:53:00.001-07:00

Well, where to start. It's been awhile. Three boys, middle of summer...leaves mommy quite tired by the time bedtime comes around and I actually get to sit down I'm too tired to do anything. So, theres a few things I can cover here. We will start with the most important first...then work our way to the most exciting!

Alright, hang on tight it's gonna be a long ride...

Brenden and Landon had their EUA about a month ago. This was the second since Brenden had the patch. The first appointment showed that the tumor had shrunk significantly. We were pleased with the results after a month. After all of my worry and pleading, I think Dr. Singh got tired of it and moved both EUA's up to July instead of waiting again for Landon. Eased my mind. Anyways, we went this past Monday for both of the boys. The nurses were so excited to see us, it's been awhile. They boys jumped right into the swing of things and we were out quickly with nothing but good news. The tumor is GONE! He found nothing new in either of the boys either! Yeah! He wants to see Brenden again in 2 months and Landon in 6. Here's to Landon and Brenden staying cancer free.

Alright, then, we had a birthday. I had planned to write out a long detailed letter to the most wonderful children in the world...but time got away from me and that didn't get done. So, I did get some pictures however.

Since then...of course, since we've turned 4, we have had to do lots of playing in the sprinkler. Okay so maybe its just because it's hot out and it cools us down. Anyways, we got this new sprinkler thats the Crazy Daisey. The kids LOVE IT.
We also like playing in the pool since we can touch the bottom!
...and finally, our crazy exciting news that alot of you may know about and some dont. Here's what happened:

I joined a wonderful club about a year ago. A little more actually and met the best friends I could have ever asked for who are also mothers of twins, trips and more. I joined CMOMC or Canton Mothers of Multiples. I also learned of a family who had a twins and another daughter. Their singleton daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer. When she was 5, she lost her battle with brain cancer however gaining her heavenly wings. In keeping her memory alive and so she can continue to touch the lives of others through her love of the ice-cream truck, her family started a non-profit ice cream truck business called Shelbi’s Sweets and Treats. All proceeds bring children joy who are fighting this difficult disease, such as sending them to Disney, Give Kids the World, or simply buying them something they need such as a bicycle or other piece of equipment. Since this has begun, they have provided many different people with items such as a car for doctors visits and other great items......

So......Shelbi's Sweets and Treats not only reccomened us to another wonderful group called "Wishes Can Happen" but they also bought the boys bunk beds. We were able to let the boys pick out the beds that they wanted, as well as giving them a gift card for Bed sets for their new big boy beds. What an amazing wish from an amazing group! As soon as I get pictures of the bed, I'll post it!

So, they sent our information along to "Wishes Can Happen". A wonderful woman named Madelyn called me. Our converstaion went something like this:

Me: Hello?
Madelyn: Hi, Amanda, this is Madelyn, I'm from Wishes Can Happen and I just need some more information from you and then we're going to see about granting you a wish.
Me: Great, Whatcha need to know?
Madelyn: Well, tell me about your twins.
Me: They're 4 and they have Retinoblastoma. They've been cancer free for 2 years and then recently they found another tumor in Brendens eye. We go every six months for an MRI and keep an eye on their eyes as well.
Madelyn: So for now, they're doing okay? I mean, it's under control?
Me: Yeap, aside from Brendens new tumor, we're hoping the tumor is gone this next checkup.
Madelyn: Okay well, I'm going to run this by the board and I'll get back to you about it. Do you have any other kids that would go?
Me: Yeah the boys have a younger brother named Peyton.
Madelyn: Oh okay, and he's healthy right?
Me: Well, yeah, he was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries.
Madelyn: Oh wow, so you have three then with life threatening illnesses?
Me: Yeap.
Madelyn: Oh okay well when can you go to Disney? I'm not even going to run this by the board.

So......we went to Disney within a week and a half of our conversation. Check it out:

4 Day Disney Parkhopper
2 Day Universal Parkhopper
Give Kids the World

Day One

Non-stop flight to Orlando: 2 Hours

Pic infront of condo when we got to Give Kids the World

Kids "unpacked" themselves...

Ol Elmer. He actually snored, all day long and all night long.

The pool area. We played here alot. If you notice there's a picture of Peyton with a rainbow beside him. So...that's the first night.....i'll post more later, I have to get to bed for work!!!

Rockin' Summer Break Already!

2010-05-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

Peytons an aspiring photographer. Move over Jen, he's comin through!

So my twinkies graduated Preschool; for the first time. We're doing PS again next year too. Our PS is an early intervention school and the twinkies are the "typicals" helping other struggling kids. They love it. They're going to miss their friends so much and even pointed out their girlfriends (see above pic). That's Landons gf in between them. He begged me for a picture. They sang, counted, danced and clapped...jumped a little bit too. Their favorite song was the Tootie-Tat dance...hilarious!

Before we could go see Thomas the Train, we needed to get some hair cut. My beautiful boy.....

Looked like a girl....

So, we got it cut...

Next, we ventured to Thomas the Train....for a second time. We went last year but I dont know if they really "got it". This year, i'm sure they "got it". My friends' husband got tickets from work so all I had to do was buy 2 extra and we were on our way. By the time we got to where the kids knew where we were headed they started chanting "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas!".....and it kept going until they saw Thomas.

Lauren, Shaun, Me, Natalie, Cameron, Brenden, Peyton, Landon and I waiting for the train.

Shaun and Lauren

Brenden so excited to be on the train.

Natalie....Peytons girlfriend being totally cute.

Landon watching the cars go by.
5 Kids....a wagon and a double jogger.
Thomas the train...Cameron and....two sets of twins? Looks like it. Too bad Natalie is 6 months younger than Peyton.
Peyton like to throw the bouncy balls and roll off of them.
Once the boys got that hang of them they had fun...before that, they werent sure what to do with them. Overall we had a great time at Thomas!

More recently, the boys started what will hopefully be a amazing sports "career" in Louisville. We are official members of the Louisville Big Bat Wiffle Ball T-Ball Team. We play Monday nights! Check out my future stars in action!

Warming Up

In the picture above, the twinkies are the two kiddos on the left end. They're doing Jumping Jacks. 4 of them. Which tired them all out.

Finally it was time for the kids to play a game against the other T-Ball Team. No one got out. Everyone made it home. Everyone got to outfield the balls (yes, balls. Every time one of the kids would hit the ball, our coach would throw out more balls for all of the kids. )It was hilarious mass chaos.

Brenden Up to bat first.
(Why did I just run to this thing? What do I have to watch for?)
Landon hits the ball.
...and stands on 1st base.....
...and gets Brenden Home! SAFE!
When it comes to T-Ball, look out. Double Trouble.
They're Hott!
Landon caught the ball in the outfield....aaaaaannd put it back on the T.
Ball Down! Anybody see it?

I got it!

I have to say this was by far the cutest thing I have seen in a long while. Landon hit the ball, and ran out and got it and took it back to set it on the T. Brenden wasn't sure which way to run and why he was running. There was another little boy who made it all the way to 3rd base and then instead of running home, turned around and ran back to 2nd.

Overall, it was a Good Game...("Good Game, Good Game")
"GO TEAM!"

wow that's alot of typing....

2010-04-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, how busy have we been! Update and Cleveland info....Brendens hospital visit went great. He went in on last Monday to get the radiation plaque that I mentioned a few updates ago. They put it in an he was groggy for the rest of the night after he woke up. If you saw the pictures of our room, it was a VIP room - well used to be. The chidlrens Oncology Floor had been relocated to here after the new building at the clinic had been built. Famous people had stayed there and it was so huge! Anyways, he was a little restless that night and we have him Motrin to relax him and take the edge off b/c i'm sure that his eye hurt a little bit. They kept his IV in which i worried quite a bit about only because, if you know my children, you know that when they wake up from anesthesia, the Pulse Ox must come off as well as the IV and any other thing on them related to the surgery, before they eat or drink anything. Oddly enough, most nurses will only take that stuff off after they've eaten or had somethign to drink. So...i was worried. Last time that Brenden wanted the IV out and they didnt take it out, he went ahead and removed it on his own by way of ripping it out. All that worrying though and by the next day when he woke up, he told me "mommy, they can keep my IV in, I dont want them to take it out". Interesting.
The second day, Tuesday, we spent playing the Wii (Mario Wii and Hotwheels racing...), scrapbooking and arguing with the residents. Ya know, that really got me. That I know more than the residents? That they're going to plan to use my son for some informative "thing"? Ha! You have me the wrong mother. If there's anything i've learned through all of this RB situation, it's that you have to be your childs advocate. He doesnt know but he sure as heck doesnt want tape stuck on and ripped back off over and over again. Here's how it went down:

9:00am the resident doctors walked in....and stand behind some imaginary line that apparently exists because my child has a radioactive plaque in his eye. Like apparently if you get too close to him, you'll self combust or something. First off....really? Really? If my child - almost 4 - has not self combusted himself then I'm pretty sure you're fine! Ugh.

Res 1: Hi, we're here to take a look at his eye.
Res 2: We're going to peel the patch off and go ahead and take a look. Has he had any problem keeping the plaque in? Has he had it fall out? We need to see if it could fall out.
Me: I'm sorry I dont understand what you're talking about.
Res 2: The plaque, has it fallen out?
Me: Uhm...it's sewn in. I dont think it could fall out...what are you talking about?
Res 1: What do you mean?
Res 2: The plaque...it could fall out?
Res 1: No, it's sewn in.
Res 2: So, we're just going to pull the patch back and look at it.
Me: Great! The drops and ointment are over there... (point to stand beside bed).
Res 1: Uhm, well we're not going to put the ointment in, we just want to see what it looks like....
Res 2: We'd just like to take a look. The doctor didn't say anything about ointment or drops.
Me: Well, I dont think that you need to take the patch off until you put drops and ointment in becasue I know from experience that this tape rips the skin. I'd rather not keep ripping his skin up just so you can LOOK at it.
Res 1: Well...i'll just go get the nurse because we're not supposed to put the drops in until tomorrow.
Me: Great go get the nurse, she said to have her come in prior to you doing the drops anyways, that way, when you decide that the drops and ointment need to go in then you already have her in here. Besides, you cant do the drops and ointment tomorrow because he's getting the patch out tomorrow, that wouldnt make much sense now would it.

(Mind you i said this because the nurse and I had already talked and she had called the doctor to make sure the dosage on drops and such.)
They stomped out. Two minutes later they came in followed by the nurse.

Res 2: Okay, so we're goign to put the ointment in and the drops. I called the doctor. He said to go ahead and put the ointment and drops in. (Really?!)

Then they proceeded to argue about who was going to put them in. So i did it. I pulled the patch back and put them in and then put it right back. Work my nerves. Then, afterwards, they said "okay we'll be back tomorrow to check it as well...". Are you kidding me? Do you realize that he's supposed to have the surgery to get it out? I sighned the papers! I know it's 3 days that he's keeping it in! Really? Do I really have to keep this close of tabs on doctors? Honestly! Anyways...after this fiasco was over, we had a pretty calm day. Like I said, we played the Wii and when Brenden fell asleep, I busted out the cricut and all my scrapbook stuff. I LOVE my cricut. Such a relaxing thing to do. Anyways, after Brenden woke up, he wanted to scrapbook with mom. He was much more conscious of things going on around him by now and grabbed his scrapbook box (yes my kids scrapbook). We did that until dinner time and after this, he was so tired that he wanted to go to bed - but....we decided to make use of that great shower that was in our room. We put a bag over his IV and I put my shorts on and into the shower we headed. Brenden got a kick out of the whole shower thing...there was no bathtub about it.
After our "shower", we spent some time looking out the window trying to get people from the windows across the way. The way they've built up around each building in the hospital makes it so that you can see other buildings and the people in the waiting rooms.
After that, Brenden talked to his brothers for about half an hour, telling them to have "Maw Maw bring you up to see me...i miss you". It was too cute. As much as they argue, they actually do love each other. After that, we all went to bed. What a long day it was. In the morning, Grandma and Pap brought Landon and Peyton up around 7n because we thought that his surgery was going to be early to get the plaque removed. Notsomuch. They didnt call us down until 12. Landon gave him a great big hug and said "I love you bubby and it'll be okay. They will take your IB out." Brenden kinda was a little kranky and pushed him away making Landon almost cry. Landon was concerned. Surgery didnt take long to remove the plaque and he was out and on the road to home.
When he woke up, it took him awhile. They actually took him back up to the room sleeping and he was able to finish his "nap" up in his room while his brothers slept in the hospital beds for their naps. Once they woke up, we tried to get Brenden up and moving but it wsnt working out too well. While we waited, one of my favorite nurses of all times came up to visit us. Now, this nurse has a story. When Landon first had his radiation plaque, the first one...she was his nurse. Everyone else steered clear or our room because we were radioactive. They told her "you shouldnt go in there because you may want to have a baby sometime...it could mess that up..." but no matter what, she came in. Every time she came in, Landon lit up. He was only 3 months but he knew her and we've always said that she was his first girlfriend. She's such a great nurse and couldn't have done a better job. She's got a picture of the boys and her from that visit on her desk and we see her every chance we get - not very often :-(. Anyways, she came up to see the boys while we were there. She waited until the plaque was out however because she's pregnant! With her second baby!!! She even said that she liked the name Landon so much that she almost named their first baby Landon... (I hope you dont mine if you're reading this but I had to post this picture!!! It's such a good one!)
So......things are going great with Brendens eyes. We all went up to Cleveland on Tuesday. Brenden, Landon and Myself all had our checkouts. They all went very well and Dr. Singh wants to see Brenden in 4 weeks! We'll know then how the radiation went. Keep your fingers crossed.
All of this, thanks to the most wonderful doctor in the world, the one that I really owe my childrens lives to...the one who sees what we dont want to see and makes "all the bad things" in their eyes go away. Dr. Arun Singh at the Cleveland Clinic. He's kinda special to me. So are my kiddos.

"Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up!" or "I took 400 pictures here's 38 of them!"

2010-04-20T18:51:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago, we took the kiddos to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo Grows Up. I'm not sure who was more excited. The kids - or me. I was totally excited to see Abby Cadabby....she's too totally cute - pink and purple hair, longs to be able to cast magic spells but cant exactly get them right.... The boys, they wanted to see Elmo - of course. We went on the Sunday show and it was all we could do to get them through the weekend. Once we were there...all we could do was wait.

...and wait...

...and wait...
...and eat lots of popcorn (which by the way, has colors in it. Yellow to be exact. We later realized this - uhm when the kids were off the wall hyper the following day on their color induced high.) Anyways, they came on the speakers that the show would be starting in 10 minutes and for everyone to stay in their seats because Big Bird would walk around and didnt want to "step on anyone with his big feet".
Three $8.00 programs, three buckets of high inducing, color laced popcorn, a bottle of water and a bottle of Dr. Pepper later and the show was ready to begin.
Big Bird started us off by telling us the exciting news that they were all going to have a pageant about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Prairie Dawn was going to be directing it and he had to decide what he wanted to be yet.
"Can you tell me how to get....how to get to Sesame Street?!"
Bert and Ernie were even there to help Big Bird decide what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Telly wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up and sang "Home on the Range" complete with Elmo and Cookie Monster riding stick horses to the theme of Bonanza.
...and a square dance....a best friend square dance & (don't be jealous) a dancing cactus!!!! Hold your excitement please! Abby Cadabby even made a few appearances before her big number...
Here, Abby was dancing with Grover who wants to be a Police Officer when he grows up. Elmo wanted to be a cowboy...until he saw grover...and then, he wanted to be a Police Officer Cowboy.
I was sooooo into..... Ehem, I uh, I mean the kids were so into it.

Next came Bert and Ernie who wanted to be forest rangers because they wear cool hats. What a great idea until they realized that they had to be in the forest at night. Huh, imagine that. So...they all went and got their teddy bears and the trees all sang teddy bears picnic.

Then, Oscar the grouch came out to tell a scary story in the woods: the Itsy Bitsy Spider. LOL.
Next was our...my....favorite Character: Abby Cadabby. Peyton was too excited: "Abby Dabby!!!" She wanted to be a fairy Godmother just like her mom. Her only problem was that she had a hard time making things invisible and that was something that Fairy Godmothers needed to be able to do. She tried her hardest and all she could do was put a hat on a pumpkin.
Abby sang "Magic in Me" set to the tune of a popular song - just cant remember the name of it (and the hospital has blocked youtube so I cant look it up).
Finally, after alot of practice, she got it - and the boys freaked out. They weren't sure what to do.
...and she's gone.
::Brenden and Landon Loudly:: "MOM WHERE'D ABBY GO!?!
Peyton: "ABBY DABBY GONE!!!!"

However, soon Abby was forgotten and Cookie Monster was the next on the list. He wanted to be a firefighter...but not just a firefighter, a Firefighter Monster because he was nice to everybody.

This was too cute, Cookie sang "Down on the Corner" and saved someones cat who was up in a tree.
Mommy was having fun too...and it was intermission.....

Watch out Elmo, Peyton's the next big thing. During intermission, Peyton was dancing like he saw all the characters on stage.
After intermission was Elmos World. "Elmo likes his goldfish, his crayons too! That's Elmos' world!" Elmo was concerned with the weather and asked his good friend Mr. Noodle to help him decide what to wear outside when it's rainy.
He thought...and decided...
a swim suit....NO!!!!
...a winter coat...NO!
...a raincoat!!!! Good Job Mr. Noodle! But your Umbrella is upside down!!! Mr. Noodle!

Next Big Bird Met Roxie and Roxie wanted to be an engineer. She had problems though because her train had Laryngitis. Ha ha! She said "My train wont give two toots!"
Oscar was next and he wanted to be a garbage man because he loves trash!
Rosita wanted to be an Amigo - or a Friend!
But in the end, Prairie Dawn just couldn't handle the pagent and they ended up putting big bird in charge because if just one person cares then another person will care....
And we all learned that you can be anything you want to be when you grow up and it's okay if you change your mind.
Like my twinkies, one would like to be a firefighter and one would like to be a police man.

What a great time we had...hope you enjoyed the pictures - took me a few hours to post and blog them. Oh well, that's what time at the hospital is spend doing when Brendens asleep. Look for hospital update pictures tomorrow. Brendens scheduled for surgery at 9:30 tomorrow morning. I'll try to post some new pics between now and then. Enjoy!

What exactly is being done here....

2010-04-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of an eye with a radiation plaque attatched to it. Below is a picture of a radiation plaque before it is inserted in the eye. The doctor puts into consideration the size of the tumor and then the depth of the tumor and that all determines the amount of iodine radioactive "seeds" on the plaque.

The holes on the edges of the plaque are used to stitch the plaque in place. For more - and probably better info - on this whole procedure go to The Cleveland Clinic's Web site on the Radioactive plaque.

Right now, we are in our hospital room. We got here around 12ish and Brenden has been getting noticably better. He came up here with a fever of 99.9 and it broke after a dose of Motrin. He then ate one italian ice, 2 dishes of ice cream, some teddy grahms, salad, cherry tomatoes, a few pieces of chicken, a bowl of fruit, half a bowl of peaches and a can of sierra mist. Now he's sleeping. Tomorrow, hopefully he'll feel a little bit better and be more up to atleast playing the wii and a few games. As for me...i"m gonna get to bed. Tomorrow i'll post pictures of Sesame Street Live.

We've checked into our hotel....

2010-04-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you a little about it by telling you what Peyton and Landon said when they saw it:

"It's got 2 potties!!!!" (I didnt have the heart to tell them that one wasn't exactly a potty, however, Pap showed them that they both weren't).
"Wook at the shower!!!!" Marble walls, glass doors and gold trim.
"It's sooooo big!!!!" (Yeah it's huge!)
"Two Beds!!!"

...and one very tired and woosy Brenden.

His hospital room is in what used to be the V.I.P wing of the hopsital where there were famous people according to the staff. He's taking it easy for now and resting so later, prolly after I get a rest and he's sleeping tonight, i'll post some more...even some from Sesame Street Live.....

He'll have to keep this in for 2 days so on wednesday morning they'll take it out and we'll head home. I cant wait and neither can Brenden.

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers...they're greatly appreciated.

I'm sick of these lemons, hand me something else!

2010-04-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

Cleveland...go in expecting the worst and hoping for the best. That's exactly what we did today. Today was the twins bi-annual eye exam for Retinoblastoma, the cancer that they have which as been under control for almost 2 years now. They haven't found anything for 2 years: until today. We went in and things went as normal. Landon came out, everything was fine. Brenden came out and Dr. Singh had not so good news. For two years I had heard "everything looks good, see you in 6 months!" Today I heard: "Well, I found a tumor. It's on scar tissue from an old tumor and it's pancaked. It's spread out and too large for us to treat with laser therapy and cryotherapy." ::Insert awkward pause here:: "Okay...." "So, we're going to have to schedule to insert the radiation plaque in his eye. It's an aggressive cancer remember (yea, I remember, we've got twins with it and I have it....how could i forget) so I'd like to schedule it for Monday through Wednesday. He'll have it in for 48 hours and we'll see how it is after that. You remember all of this? From when Landon had it done 2 times right?" "Okay....uhm..."

I really have no clue what to say. It's all come on so fast. I guess that's what I get for telling my work that we've been fine for two years concerning this. I know that we cant get upset over this. I've gotta stay strong for my kiddos...God help me keep a almost 4 year old content in a room where we aren't aloud out of because we're radioactive - for 3 days.

"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies"

Valentines Day 2010....a little bit late.

2010-03-09T12:40:00.000-08:00

So I know Valentines day has come and gone however, our pictures from it have yet to be posted. The boys had the Friday before valentines day off for whatever reason from school. This meant that we had a free morning to do whatever before they had to go to their dads house for the weekend. I decided that since we're sooooooo into firetrucks, firemen and dalmations, that I would take them to build a bear and get the new and limited time dalmation. I know we don't need another stuffed animal but they're totally into dalmations and all the other stuff. So off we went. So Rick went with us to corral kids in the mall...coulda had ten more people helping out becasue those kids were wild. Mommy got the crazy idea to just take one stroller in for three kids. A single stroller mind you. They all fought over who got to push it. Didnt exactly work.

Brenden was cheesin with his new fireman dalmation dog. LOL, He named it "Igotta Firedog"...very specific.

Landon and his new police man dalmation. He named his "Hydra" from one of their Sesame Street books about firefighters.

Peyton being goofy with his puppy. He wasnt too fond of staying still long enough to name or get a birth certificate for his puppy unless he could type in on the screen himself. Needless to say, didnt exactly work out. His was gererically named "Valentine Dog". Cute huh.

Can you tell they love each other? On occasion? LOL, well regardless they had a blast. I actually took my camera to the store to get pictures of them doing it. I even made sure that I had a new battery in it. However, absent minded as I've been recently forgot and left my memory card at home...in my computer. Wont do much good there will it. So, you'll have to settle for these pictures.

All eyes on us....

2010-02-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

All eyes on.....us? Alot about the eyes to talk about this time...Peyton, well, he's been playing with Mr. Potato heads glasses. As you can see. He's keepin his mommy on her toes - that's for sure!!!

...and eating boxes? Ha the things we do to occupy these kids lol.
...aaaaaaaaaaand....we've had tons. of. snow. and we're supposed to get more. snow. ugh. I'm tired of it. I know I live in ohio, deal with it and quit complaining..

But i'm sick of it...i'm sick of 12 inches of snow at a time. This is crazy.

Finally, It's a little late to be reporting this but better late than never! On Monday of this week, we went to Cleveland with Landon. I'll start off by saying "i'm glad that it's OVER." We woke up early and headed up. We had to be there at 9 or 9:30 and we got there at 9:15....after leaving at 7. It took us two hours to get there!!! Traffic, Traffic, Traffic!!! Landon had no clue really what was going on on the way up there... once we got there, he started asking but was still okay. He was set on talking to and flirting with the nurses. (Notice in the picture above how his eye turns in? That's what was being fixed...)
He knew that eventually he'd be getting a "breathing treatment" which is when they put him to sleep. After a little bit of a wait and some happy juice, he was finally taken back. He did so good. He was saying "mommy, that mecinin made me feel funny...." and "I tant sit up, it's hard to!" When we got back to the OR, he layed on the table for them and told them all about his pictures in his photo album and then they asked him if he could count to 10. He said "Yeah!" and started to....only making it to 7.

After about an hour and a half, Dr. Traboulsi came out and told us that he was out of the OR but not awake yet. He said that there was alot of scar tissue from where the muscles had been cut prior for his surgery at 3 months old for the plaque. The muscle had apprently attatched it self to the eye and he said it was a little harder than he had expected to do because of that. However, he did it and although Landons vision wont ever be perfect out of that eye, hopefully it wont turn back in a

After a rocky wake up time in recovery, we headed home. Later that night, he was feeling back to himself.
Brenden on bottom, Landon behind him.

Brenden laughing.
Brenden again.Landon was tired....really tired...and his eye was still sore but day by day it's getting better. It looks so much straighter now. I'm so proud of him, he seems to be doing better now...not hurting so much. Below...one of my more recent favorite pics.

Special.....

2010-02-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

* I recieved this along with Peytons "Heart Book" in the Nicu. His heart book had a list of his medications and medical terms that we were able to refer to when the doctors used that doctor talk during "rounds". It also set Peyton apart from the other NICU babies in allowing nurses to know right away that he had a Heart Defect. Apparently another NICU mother wrote this.

A New Baby to Love

All children need love, understanding and care,
someone they can count on to always be there.

But God knew some children would need more than others,
that's why He chose special mothers.

They have unique challenges right from the start,
so the Lord holds these families close to heart.

He gives them His strength and the patience to wait;
they learn that small steps bring rewards that are great.

And they come to know joys that they'd never dreamed of,
when their hearts ahve been touched by a special child's love.

Seven Hearts in Seven Days....Check it out!

2010-02-07T12:03:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know what a good CHD Mom friend of mine is hosting 7 Hearts in 7 Days on her Blog. It's a series of blogs that spotlight CHD Moms and CHD Survivors during this week. This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. Most of you that read my blog are family and know about my son Peyton being born with a CHD but for those of you that dont frequent my blog alot or have just come across it, when my twins were 9 months old, we found out that we would be expecting another baby. Everything went fine up until I tripped over the dog and my doctor put me in the hospital for routine monitoring. This included an ultrasound because the babies heart rate was lower and he wanted to make sure that the placenta hadn't separated when I fell. That's when we found out about Peytons CHD and our life took a crazy turn that we had never expected. Keep checking out her blog this week for Peytons CHD Story which will be featured as well as to learn about CHDs. Did you know that "Nearly twice as many children die from congenital heart disease in the United States each year as die from all forms of childhood cancers combined." Apparently I got both ends of the deal there. However, I would not ever change it for the world. I wouldn't be as strong as I am now if I wouldn't have went through all of this. Anyways, I have to run but i wanted to tell everyone to check that out. I'll try and post another tonight, once I get back home!

The New Year Has Brought Wonderful Things!

2010-01-06T08:40:00.001-08:00

What a great holiday season we had. So much has happened and the new year is off to a wonderful start. A few weeks before Christmas, I had a job interview with a local school district for a part time intervention position. I loved the school - it reminded me of the school that I went to when I was in elementary school. A quiet country school surrounded by corn fields. Anyways, I wasnt sure if i was going to get the job or not because they had asked me about more current testing method and I'm not familiar with it since I taught in North Carolina and not in Ohio. Anyways, just a few days before Christmas, the principal called and asked me if i was interested in the position! Heck yeah! So, Friday, i'll be going there to meet my co-workers and find out all the details.

On Tuesday January 4th, Rick and I had our final court hearing making our divorce final as we have been living separate for almost 2 years. That's a load off of my shoulders. Maybe now we'll be able to get along better without thinking about what can be held above our heads in court. I hope so because I dont think that I can handle any more stress like we've gone through.

On Wednesday - which was yesterday - we took Landon to see Dr. Traboulsi at the Cleveland Clinic for his eye appointment concerning his eyes crossing from previous surgeries. His vision improved by one line (which is good but not great). We scheduled surgery for February 22nd where they will do muscle surgery to tighten the muscles from when he had had the Radiation Plaques inserted. Since then, the thing that was easiest to tell the boys apart has been their eyes because Landons have crossed. Hopefully, they wont cross now. We'll still have to patch him to strengthen the muscles and he'll wear glasses to help him see as there is alot of scar tissue around the retina. I asked if he could have the EUA with Dr. Singh done at the same time and he said he wouldnt mind however they're not in the OR at the same time that week and they dont have to see the boys again for an EUA until April so that wont be happening. In talking to Dr. Traboulsi about all of this, he said that he will do an EUA before he does the muscle surgery in order to make sure that there is nothing that needs treated. If something does need treated, he said he would be sure to call Dr. Singh at that time and he would come straight to the OR to perform the needed treatment. He assured us that he knows what he's looking for in Retinoblastoma as he was the specialist prior to Dr. Singh. He also knows Dr. Price, who was the specialist at the Cleveland Clinic that treated me and when he moved to University Opthalmology, another took over at the Cleveland Clinic before Dr. Traboulsi did. So...things went well there. The surgery will be an in and out surgery and it will be at the main surgery center (per my request) rather than that Cole Eye Center. I prefer the main bc we've had some issues with nurses at the Cole Eye Center - nurses at the main know us and know the kids and how they need to be dealt with before, during and after surgery.

By the way, Christmas was great. I actually have tons of pictures to post on here but...I thought a Landon update was a little bit more important. I'll try and get the on here tonight.

Merry Chirstmas

2009-12-24T19:40:00.000-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, and in our house full of grins,
Not a creature was stirring, not even the twins;
Side-by-side stockings were hung on the closet door with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas would soon see the pair;
Our double blessings of joy were nestled, each snug in toddler beds,
While visions of remote controlled firetrucks danced in their heads;
Grandma collapsed on the couch, and I fell asleep on the floor,
It had been a long day, and soon the room was full of snore.
Alert to all sounds, there arose such a noise,
We immediately jumped to our feet, could that be the boys?
No! This came from outside and we looked on the lawn,
(ignoring the footprints traced through the lawn).
What should we see there, In front of our still-lit Christmas light display?
An amazing sight! Eight identical reindeer, leading a sleigh.
And guiding the team, pulling the reins with a jolt,
Was a grizzled, white-bearded old man (probably the dad of mults....)
Obviously used to barking out orders to a crew,
He whistled and shouted, calling out to his reindeer, two-by-two;
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN! On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
On to the twins' house, it's time to see,
If they have been good little boys, both Twin A and Twin B!"
And then, in a twin-inkling, we heard a noise up above,
"While on our roof," I shouted. "Do you see the twins lost gloves?"
But just then down the chimney came St. Nick with a leap.
(It was quite loud in the house, would the twins stay asleep?)
He was decked in red and white, adorned all in fur,
And with a full grin, a father of twins to be sure!;
On his back was a bag, it was filled to the brim with toys,
Could those be gifts for our boys?
His eyes -- how they twin-kled! they had such appeal,
And by the looks of his belly, he didn't miss too many meals.
His face was broad with cheeks that reminded us of bubbles,
With wide dimples that were second only to our double troubles;
He silently dodged the strewn toys and went straight to his work,
Filling both boys stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And with a jolly old chuckel, nod and a wink,
He exclaimed, "off to the Stuckeys' home, if I missed them, what would their trips think!"
My twins would be so full of glee,
Despite missing the sight near the tree.
But hopefully they heard St. Nick's farewell as he sailed off in flight,
"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"

Halloween, Thanksgiving....

2009-12-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hello blogging world! Its been a few...so i'm going to catch up in pictures here...bear with me :-)

First, we had a Halloween Party at GGM. What an interesting party. We had alot of fun learning to dance...and wondering where Katie was... ;-)

My Dad (A factory worker - or a "dying breed") and Myself (Deputy)
Paul and Katie finally showed up. Can you tell who was who? Good thing Paul fits in well with the family....

...or he would have slapped my dad. LOL.The Infamous GAB in her Biker Witch costume and Grandma T and Aunt T (I'm gonna have to get that costume off of you.... ;-) )
Even grandma got in on the fun...

Peyton and his 2nd cousin Aniyah celebrated their birthdays together on the day after Thanksgiving. We'd been sick over Peytons Birthday and weren't able to get the family together so this was prime time!
Aniyah and her mom ready for the cake and presents and below, Peyton and I wait for the "happy birthday song" only for Peyton to scream and want to hide under the table.
See?
Peyton really liked his cupcake. He had an odd way of eating it though.

My cousins baby shower and my finished project of the baby blanket I made for baby Neeli who made her arrival before the baby shower!

Mommy got a new phone....and it has this cute application on it that says the letters of the alphabet whenever the keys are touched on the pad....so here's Landon...looks like he's texting.

In the spirit of Christmas coming up, the boys are on a kick that they want "Remote control fire truck choo choo trains". This is what htey've asked for from Santa and it's all they talk about. (Thank God for ebay....) I think we're going to have some future Firemen on our hands...watch out Adam!!

And...we've finally got rid of the binky...its a little bit rough at bedtime b/c he would normally fall asleep on his own...so now we're back to Bedtimes from Hell but we'll work it out somehow...

So, expect christmas and .....easter pictures next with the way I'm going!

Happy Birthday Video 6 months later and the Swine Flu

2009-11-10T10:53:00.001-08:00

Just thought i'd share the video I made for the boys 3rd Birthday - and should have had done 6 months ago. If you didnt see it on facebook, it's on here. The only thing is is that I cant get it to upload on here so...here's the link.

Brenden and Landons 3rd Birthday Video

When I get a spare second, i'm going to post pictures from our Halloween Party and Trick or Treat. We also have a Birthday (Peyton) coming up. All this and we have managed to get the Piggy (swine) Flu. We got it last Monday and have had it ever since. It sucks. Really. I havent felt this horrible for a long long time.

Why would you make Marshmallows with the color Blue?

2009-10-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

I would just like to state how much it ticks me off when everybody else seems to think that colors dont affect my children. I didnt give them any...our house has no colors in it that these children eat. Their father claims that he didnt give them any this weekend and I beleive him b/c they were fine up until the point of like....2 days ago. Now, they came home from SCHOOL (they know about the color issue and have told us that they would work with us...) discussing the ladder they made at school out of frosting, marshmallows and grahm crackers.... didnt think anything of it...until this morning when at 7:30 they were freakin out running through the house bouncing off the walls. Then I thought - hmmmm frosting - even though it was white (unless it's Duncan Hines) has colors in it. What are the chances of them buying a frosting that IS Duncan Hines for a school snack - it's definatly not the least expensive one. Then...i thought more and mom brought up the point that unless they're generic marshmallows, Kraft Marshmallows have Blue in them. I know! They're White! But they have blue in them. So, once again, for the second week in a row, i'm about to lose my mind yet holding my own and figureing out new ways to work with my kids to calm them down. My kids are on colors. Their father will get them when they're "coming off of colors".

If you get a chance, check these links about the effects of food colors out - they're so true:

Die, Dye! The Effect of Food Dyes on Childrens behavior and thinking

Food Additives

There's more but...my kids are on colors, they're ready to tear the house down....

In the Halloween Spirit...

2009-10-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

...I invite you to view the newest of the scary movies out there.

I introduce:

The Shredded Paper Massacre

I've been nominated!!!

2009-10-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it was brought to my attention yesterday by a close MoM Friend of mine (Thanks Jess!) that I was nominated for a Blog Award over at the Multiples...and More Blog. Apparently the time that I've spend taking these kids to and from school has hindered my blogging and I failed to notice it! We're gonna have to do something about that.... However, I'm totally psyched b/c I had no idea that there were actually people other than my close family reading this blog! Well, i guess I knew there were some but not that many!! Anyways, I was nominated for the Best Layout Award...

So, here's what I need you to do, head on over to Multiples...and More! and check out the categories listed on the right hand side of the page as you scroll down. Anyways, find that little box labeled Best Layout and vote for me!!!! You'll know it's mine b/c it'll say Mommy23Miracles!

Take a few and vote - they voting is open for 4 more days I believe - so I may actually have a chance!!!

Thats all I have for now as I think i've posted so much in the past few days it may take some time for ya'll to get caught up!!!

So thanks in advance guys!!

Soccer MoM's here I come...er uh, Football?

2009-10-03T09:02:00.001-07:00

So I thought when I got my Town and Country that my life was set. I have three kids...I drive a mini-van - i'm on my way towards soccer mom status...or where we live - Football Mom Status...or...Band Mom Status? (On a side not, Brenden told us the other night that he wanted to be in the "marching band" but not just any marching band....he said "Wooisvilles Marching Band....and be in da parades and det tandy...." ) However, after I got the most recent letter from the preschool teacher, I know I'm there. At the beginning of school, I signed up to help out in the room for parties and such - ya know, a room mother. Never did I expect:

"Would you like to plan a small Halloween Party - Perhaps 1 game, 1 craft and a snack?"

(and it continued with a list of names that I could contact of others that had signed up to do the same). It's official, I'm a room mother.

Call me crazy but so soon??? LOL. Anyways, for those of you that live around here and would like to support the Leopards, the boys are selling Louisville Leopart shirts which apparently can only be purchased through the schools. Decent prices too so let me know if you are interested!!!! GAB, I wont tell anyone if you want to buy one... ;-)

Playing Catch Up...

2009-10-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, amazing what sitting and looking at the pictures on my page will do - i'm thinking - Gosh it sure has been a long time since I've posted. What's happened in that time...lets see.

My parents (we live with them at the moment until I can get us out and on our feet) went on vacation to Missouri. While they were gone, I dropped the kids off at their dads house, had a great weekend spending time with some friends and family that I hardly get to see.

Amber and I enjoyed a night away from the kids when we went down to the party at the farm. What a night... ::insert eye roll here::
Aunt Becky (GAB) and Uncle TomAunt T and her boyfriend Ed....
Ed, Uncle Tom and Jeffrey

After my "weekend" was over on Sunday morning, I jumped in the shower and enjoyed the last of my quite time before I picked the kiddos up. Then...i turned off the cold water. Turned off the hot water, only to have the hot water knob and pipe come off in my hand, spraying me with scalding hot water. Jumped out of the shower, bruised and burnt my legs and called for help. The first of many calls to my dad - who was in fact in Missouri. After a long conversation with dad and mom trying to explain to them that not just the knob but the whole dang thing came off in my hand...my uncle came over to try and fix the problem. Well, all of that resulted in no water for the rest of the week unless I turned it off and on downstairs. Nice... so we got through that and I thought things were under control when I was washing dishes and realized I was standing in a pond. You guessed it, a pipe under the sink had rusted through and apparently decided that it as a great time to have a gaping hole in it allowing all the water to just flow on out. Alright, fine I gave up and took the kids down to grandma's house - which was convenient b/c she was on vacation with my parents so we had the house to ourselves for bath time (it could get a little crazy and it may have drove grandma up the wall).

Brenden, Landon, Cameron, Natalie and Peyton checking out the moo cows....the too little ones could call the cows by going "COW!!!"
Natalie, Peytons girlfriend checking out this farm stuff all the boys are so excited about.Bathtime at Grandma T's house...lol, they woudlnt sit in the tub, they kept kneeling b/c the mat in the bottom of her bathtub apparently has a few holes in it and when they would sit, it would suction their butts to the bottom of the tub.
Remember all these toys? Yeap, still under the spare bed...
Anyways, between that and here and there, I stopped in at the lawyers and filled out papers. Peyton flirted with the receptionist and she requested that we stop in everyday for her to flirt back with him. He's such a ham.

The boys are doing great in preschool. Landon has a girlfriend that he talks about constantly. He tells us what toys they both played with and if she was at school or not. She's an adorable little girl too! Both boys have learned the "hello song" and sing it at night while they're pretending to go to bed.

We "dug taters" at the farm finally. The boys waited all summer to dig them. They had grandma up there one day digging them with a shovel but when that didnt work, we got Pap out there with the tractor. We even got Aunt Theresa out there to help!!!

My kids are total dirt balls...all the time. They're definatley going to be country boys. There's going to be a few girls out there that are pretty darn lucky. So...we carted all the "taters" back to the garage...

Taking the tractor down to the garage was a hard thing to do, it took one Pap, one Peyton and one Brenden...Landon oversaw with the help of Grandma and made sure that no "taters" were hurt in the process. Once we made it back down to the garage, the boys counted, dumped, picked up, tossed and who knows what else with the "taters'.

Well, i think that's about it for now. I'm tired of sitting here...so i'm gonna get up and pack the kids stuff for their fathers house and then see how my weekends going to go.

Checking Out the Fair

2009-09-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

So, last night was the first night for the county fair. We went last year but there wasnt much that the kids could do at their age. This year, they're a little bit older and more into rides. We started off watching the Marching Band show. Landon thought there were other things that we could be spending our time on. Brenden clapped and marched with the bands and really got into it. We left there for a while and spent some time riding rides.

For some reason, I forsee this in our distant future (think 13 years....) All three boys riding in a car together. This could spell trouble.

After the boys rode on pretty much all of the car rides, we all went on the Ferris Wheel. Peyton wasnt sure about it but once he realized he could see schoolbusses from the top, he was better.
After we rode the Ferris Wheel, we headed for the swings. They were the only kids on the swings (I'm telling you, weekdays at the fair is the best time to go with little kids.)
Then, we headed for the roller coaster, once again. Believe it or not, my two crazies headed for the first car. Brenden told us "Mom, see you have to put your arms up when you go down the hill and scream." So that's exactly what he did. (First picture they're the 3rd car back. Second Picture they're the first car).
After the roller coaster, we headed for the tractors and animals.. Of course. An obvious stop for our family.

After we went to the tractors, we made one last stop at the Carousel. Landon and Peyton were a bit affraid at first but once it started, they raced to see who's horse would win.

Overall, we had a great day at the fair!!!! Infact, they think that they would like to go back today...and tomorrow, and the next day.....

First Day of Preschool

2009-08-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been here and it's gone. Summer...true but not what i'm talking about. I'm talking about...

The First Day of Preschool for the Twins

I took the kids last Thursday to their first day of Preschool. What a exciting day it was. I was prepared to cry...for the to cry and for many hugs...

Instead, this is what I got:

Alright and since that wasnt exactly what I was expecting on the first day of Preschool EVER - this wasnt what I was expecting either once we got to school:

...and finally, just when i was expecting tears (from me) and flipping out and crying and screaming...this is what I got:

Yeah, you got it. No crying...no whining, no nothing. They were too excited to get to school. And seeing them run down the stairs and seeing the smile on their faces and hearing them talk about what they did at school...made me so proud. My Big Boys......my babies aren't so little anymore.

Summer time fun....

2009-08-10T18:05:00.000-07:00

So it's been a few since I've posted anything. I've been putting in applications all over the place and trying to find a job and having tons of fun outside with the boys. I finally have a job, I've started working at the YWCA in Canton as a Before/After School School Age Teacher and while the kids are in school, i'll float, I believe. I work from 8 - 4:30 and I'm in the process of getting the kiddos into daycare. The boys will go from daycare to Preschool and then from Preschool to Daycare for lunch and a nap and then they'll wake up in time for a snack and me to pick them up. Mostly it'll just be getting them to and from school. So, for now, mom and dad have been watching them. They've spent quite a bit of time down at the farm and are enjoying every minute of it. See???

Peyton Driving Paps tractor...what a smile. :-)
Landon and Peyton having a snack at the farm. Dont they look like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown? Luckily, by the time i get home from work, they've already played in the water and are rinsed off and not so dirty LOL.

Also, since we live near Canton, we're near the Pro Football Hall of Fame and we spent one night chasing the hot air balloons. it was totally cute, Brenden had his "camera" (one of mine that was broken). He would say "Wait, I have to get a picture!...Click....." and I'd say "Did you get it?" and he would say "No...." It was totally cute. Then, when we were almost ready to go home, we saw a balloon going down in canton. We pulled into the lot near it and watched it land...in a nice empty gravel lot...which was fenced in completely. It was funny watching them try to figure out how to get the balloon out of the fenced in area.

We were also in the Community Parade in Canton. We were on the Mothers of Multiples Club Float.

And we were in the Twins Days Parade this past weekend. See us in the background...green and purple wagon? I got crafty on Photoshop and used it to make us shirts this year which we got printed professionally that way they wouldnt be ruined after the first time we wore them.
So...that's about it. Going through alot of stuff over here....soon enough i'll post about it. I have more pictures but i'll have to post them another night. Have a good night, i'm headed off to bed. I get to go Roller Skating tomorrow with the kids. :-) I know i know, break a leg. Ha!

Dear City of Columbus

2009-07-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

Dearest City of Columbus,
I think that you are beautiful. All of the large buildings are marvelous and just so amazing to look at. This weekend, my family (minus the kiddos) and I visited you for a wedding and reception. I bought a new dress, not even a mommy looking dress but a stylish type of dress, I bought stiletto heels to match my dress and didn't have to worry about carrying kiddos around and I bought cute matching jewelry - heck I even did my nails for the wedding! I was excited to come visit you City of Columbus. My cousin and his new wife had booked a wedding in a well known venue...the Columbus Athenaeum. This happens to be on the corner of 4th Street and Gay Avenue. You'll see further along in my nice letter, Dear City of Columbus, why I remember that so well.Anyways, the Athenaeum is, as you most likely know, a place that has been rated in the theknot.com, or a well known wedding website as one of the top wedding sites. The rooms in your Athenaeum were beautify painted to resemble marble and granite with very intricate detail.You have done a wonderful job preserving the historical aspect of this building - props to you City of Columbus. My cousin married a wonderful girl and I couldn't be happier for them. I told him that he almost made me cry, it was so beautiful. The priest was awesome, he was funny, told stories related to marriage and had a lot of useful advice that he shared with everyone. He even reminded my cousins new wife that there would actually come a day that she will wake up and he "won't be as cute as he is today". That gave everyone a chuckle. You have a funny group of people residing here, City of Columbus. The reception was fun, I spend time with my cousins and got to take time of from chasing the kids around to enjoy myself.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Haer

My cousin Meredith and I - pretty cute for mommies of kiddos 4 and under huh...
Marissa and I

My cousins Marissa and Meredith and Myself in the middle.

Finally, around 9ish, things were cooling down and it was time to leave. Rick and I decided that we needed to go b/c we werent exactly sure of how to get back to the hotel and we'd need sufficient time to find it while it was still light out. City of Columbus, you have way to many streets, think of downsizing....quit building more. So, before we walked ourselved out into your wonderful (cough, cough) city, we said our Congrats...

Mrs. Kristen Haer and Me!

Now, dearest City of Columbus, this is where I become a little frustrated with you. Okay, alot frustrated with you. Let me share with you some things I learned about your terrible city.
1) The City of Columbus Police DO NOT respond to vandalism calls, nor do they come out to write a report.
2) File aformentoned report online?! Yeah.
3.) 9pm seems prime time to be at a bar, in line for a bar or in line getting your car valet parked?! at a bar.
4) Columbs is NOT beautiful at night, infact it's quite annoying and a little bit on the drive me crazy side (especially when my GPS is no longer in my car, I'm lost and unable to find the highway, we have 1/16th of a tank of gas, and Ricks riding in the passenger seat shielding his eyes from flying pieces of glass - sitting with his feet in piles of glass mind you.)

What I'm getting at is this:

I don't like returning to the parking lot after a reception - after anything at that matter - to the passenger side window broken out of my van and my GPS missing.... That's all....so...dearest City of Columbus - I DO NOT LIKE YOU - not one bit... not at all.

Thanks - or not really.
Amanda

P.S. To the moron that broke my window and stole my GPS, is that all you wanted? I mean it's apparent that you missed my iPod and my iPod transmitter and my 30+ Disney/Kids movies and numerous other items that were sitting around there too... ugh

a mixture of things

2009-07-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

What a time. We decided to go to the Akron Zoo with the kids for the boys birthday (after partyish b/c we went after their birthday). We also met up with the Canton Mothers of Multiples Club members there. I cant tell you how many times I head (both from me and others) "hey, get back here .... whichever one you are!" Anyways, here's some cute pics from then.

We got to see the new Jelly Fish Exhibit. The boys thought it was pretty neat to see them. I never realized how many types there were.

I'm still not done with their video - and it wont be done for a few. I have to send my computer back to dell to get my SD card reader fixed on it. It wont read my memory card :-( . Anyways, I also have to send my camera in to get it fixed - once again, wont read my memory card.

Today we went to my cousin Andreas house and got all our hair "did". I got mine trimmed and colored, Peyton got his cut for the first time and actually wanted to get it cut and Brenden and Landon got their hair trimmed. They had fun playing with her daughter Aniah and fell asleep within half an hour at bedtime.
So i borrowed Ricks laptop to finish this blog as mine has taken a small vacation and i forgot to upload the rest of Peyton getting his hair cut so more of that to come...

Happy third birthday to my babies...

2009-06-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

Two faces to wash
And four dirty hands;
Two insistent voices
Making demands.

Twice as much crying
When things go wrong;
Then four eyes closing
With slumber song.

Twice as many garments
Blowing on the line.
Two cherubs in the go cart,
Soaking up sunshine.

Work I do for twins
Naturally comes double,
But four arms to hug me
Repay all my trouble!

Author: Azalete Bolger Wells

Well, It's finally here. Brenden and Landon are turning the Big...er uh....turning 3 today! That's right, at 12:59 p.m and 1:00 p.m. my beautiful baby boys will be turning three! In just three short years, we have had our ups and downs, our sideways and upsidedowns...and you get the point. Here's the rundown...

On November 13th, we found out that we were pregnant (eeks!!!). On December 27th, we found out that we were having twins! (Double Eeek!) Beginning in June, I started begging my doctors to deliver the boys. I had gained 90lbs and was testing the waters of 200 lbs. That's scary enough.
I started washing my car like 5 times a day...to see if i could get the Braxton Hicks to turn into something more. NO luck. After all of my doctors appointments, I BEGGED the doctors to let me wash their cars. No Luck. Once certain doctor even told me that if i slipped him a stack of unmarked bills under his office door, the he would do a c-section and deliver them. No such luck. So after spending a day of counting contractions, i went bed on the 19th of June. I woke up the following morning wondering just how close these damn contractions were supposed to be...and how strong? So i called, and went in around 10 or so and by 12:59 and 1:00, the boys were born!

Brenden Lee and Landon Alan

These two boys are my life. I coudlnt ask for more. We have been in and out of the hospital due to Retnioblastoma, Landon falling down the whole entire flight of stairs, goofy colds that wont go away, almost RSV and things i'd never wish i'd heard of like Hand, Foot and Mouth. Mainly Retinoblastoma comsumes our life. I woudnt have it any other way thought. These two are wonderful (and their little brother too...)

So, their video will be done soon...but for now....

The day they were born:

1 Year Old

2 Years Old

and......you'll have to wait till they're up for the three year old ones! :-) Have a Good Day!

Dear Makers of Artificial Colors...

2009-06-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

So, once again we've had a week...or two. While the boys have been enjoying the sunshine and great weather, I have been working on my finals for my masters classes. After this week they're done...well, this week and a 10 paged paper. Nice. Anyways, Ricks grandmother passed away on the 4th of this month. She hadn't been doing well and they had brought her home and kept her as comfortable as possible. For all you Trescotts, she had colon cancer - like Grandpa. They felt that she was too unstable for the treatment and had chosen not to proceed with it. I've been telling Rick for the past almost week now since she's passed that she has got to be much happier. Ever since I've met Rick, she's been blind. Blind and very unhappy about that fact, especially when grand chidlren and great grand children are brought around and she longed to see them. I told Rick, she's up in Heaven, front row watching all of her grandkids play now and thinking how beautiful they are. Anyways, yesterday after the funeral, there was a lunch/dinner at a family members house. Not much to drink there other than beer or carnival punch. Because of our little friend - carnival punch - i'd like to write a little letter....

Dear Makers of Artificial Colors (Red #40, Yellow #10, Blue Lake....the list goes on...),
How could you? What are you thinking!? Turning my absolutely wonderful and amazingly sweet almost 3 year old twin boys into blood sucking, finger biting, hair pulling, pinching, yelling, screaming, kicking, back talking monsters who are now on strike for sleeping!!!! How could you! What WERE YOU THINKING!!! My little sweet boys are gone and it no longer takes a "stay in bed, mommy will be back to check on you..." and maybe half an hour later, they're sleeping. Oh no!!!! It takes a "if you dont get in bed right now, i'm gonna......." - well you get my point.... add a little bit of laughing, running around the room and 2 hours later, we're still not asleep! Landon went to bed at 10:30 last night - compared to Brenden who was sleeping by maybe 8:30. Let me tell you how many times he cautiously slinked down the hallway.... 4....Four times! UGH!!!! And that's just bedtime, dont get me started on the rest of the day. AHGGGG!!!! So in closing, i'd like to say....WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!!!!

Thanks!
Amanda

Rick and Brenden Cheese for a picture - i was telling rick "No, a real smile" and Brenden cheesed even more - lol.

Peyton pointing (with his middle finger) at a worm that the boys found. The poor thing, i'm not sure what actually happened with it in the end but I know it wasnt pretty.

Okay, me and my baby Brenden. Arent they getting so big - they'll be 3!!!! Anyways, see, my hairs short and black too...i know i know, the black was on sale. LOL.
So...we begged and pleaded with all the cousins down there to get a picture together and this is what we ended up with. It's missing 3 I believe. Anyways, in attempt to get this picture, I caught Brendens true feelings about getting pictures taken in the following picture:
Yes, that's a water gun...but really it looks like he's thinking "If I have to get one more picture taken...."

So...that's what's been going on....time for class, good thing I get to school early so I can blog. LOL.

"I Spent A Day Out With Thomas!"

2009-05-17T20:05:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update...I started school on the 11th and have been totally busy since then. I guess school was a little bit easier since I didn't have three kids going "Mom, here your book mom...you need your book?" Anyways...we spent this past weekend visiting a "very close friend" of the family. Some of you may recognize him...as....

THOMAS THE TRAIN!!!

There was a huge group of us that went. My Aunt and Uncle went with us along with my cousin and her husband and two kids and my parents. We had a blast! So, here's some cute pics of the kiddos.

The tents that they set up were red so the pictures that I got were kinda red crazy looking! But here's the kiddos in this pretend train that they had set up.

In the same building, they had a large model railroad set up and the middle train going around was Thomas.

Next, we walked over to where they were loading the trains. The sky looked gross and stormy and there was lightening in the distance. We were sure that we were going to get hit with the rain. When Thomas came around the bend, the boys faces lit up and they started smiling so big!

Rick and Brenden

Landon sitting on dads shoulders watching Thomas come around the corner with all the other kids.Brenden showing off his "A Day Out With Thomas" Tickets

12 Tickets for a Day Out With Thomas: $250.00
Gas to get to Cuyahoga Falls to see Thomas: $20.00
The smile on Brendens face when he saw Thomas coming around the corner: Priceless

My dad holding Peyton on his shoulders to see Thomas b/c he had done it to Landon and Peyton wanted to do what his brothers did.Rick and Brenden ~ Landon and I
My cousin Mere and Dere and their kiddos
The boys Standing infront of Thomas the train. Let me tell you how hard it was to get the kids to look at the camera. They were too interested in Thomas!
Before we left, we let the kids stand by the tracks. They were amazed at how big they were - they always point out "railroad tracks" when we're driving.
Anyways, that's about it for now. I have tons of other cute pics to post but no time right now. So...see ya!

Good News!!!!!!

2009-05-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

So...i just wanted to update everyone on the Cleveland Appointment that we had with Landon yesterday. We went to see Dr. Traboulsi (a Pediatric Strabismus Doctor) and discussed with him if the patch that Landon has been wearing has helped any. ***A little background: Since Landon was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, his had always been a little bit worse than Brendens. When Dr. Singh found the tumors in their eyes, Landons was much Larger than Brendens in his right eye and 2 days later, he became the youngest baby to have a radiation plaque inserted to treat the fast growing tumor. This meant that they measured the tumor and made a plaque of radioactive material which kills the tumor and placed it behind his eye on the tumor. To do this, they had to cut the muscle on the side of his eye to get it in there. They did this once to each eye to get the tumors under control and gone. Since the muscle was cut, Landons eyes turn and also, because of the placement of that first large tumor, Landons vision in his right eye was BAD. His vision in this eye was 20/200 at our last checkup. Our main goal in this is to get the vision in his bad eye pretty much equal to his good eye (20/30) and then do surgery to turn his eye back (tighten the muscle back up). Well, The good news that we found out yesterday after doing 4 months of patching his eye: Landons vision in his right eye is now 20/ 80. That's awesome. That means that with a little more patching, we'll be able to have the surgery done! He asked us to patch his eye for another 4 months and hopefully, it will make the vision better! Oh I am just so excited about this - I had started to think that this is just how he's going to be and that nothing really would make it better. I cant wait!

I also have more great news! A few months ago, we met with the Speech Pathologist at Louisville Schools concerning Brenden and Landons speech. She was impressed but it was through Help Me Grow and I was a little concerned when we had started the program b/c they weren't exactly talking, just pointing and grunting. (What was I thinking???? Now they talk all the time?!) Anyways, by the time they got to see them, the boys had come leaps and bounds with their speech and were in no need of speech therapy. So, the Speech Pathologist that we talked to was so impressed with how much the boys know and how well they do with their Alphabet and Numbers and their other skills that she asked if we would like to place them into the Louisville Preschool Program. Normally, kids are only placed into this program when they need Early Intervention and help with certian skills. In Brenden and Landons case, could be in the program to help out the other kids since according to testing by the school, they're ahead in alot of areas. She said that alot of her preschoolers dont even know what these boys know. Then, she tols us that if we wanted the boys in the preschool through Louisville Schools, that we could be put on a waiting list and maybe they would have an opening and we'd be able to get htem in. She said in most cases, they dont get two openings together and it may not happen until next year some time. They did want to see them at Preschool screening this fall though just to know how far they've come. Well, yesterday I got a call from Caller ID: Louisville Pub (I'm thinking who's calling me from a pub and where is there a Pub in Louisville...... Well, it was Louisville Public Schools and they have two spaces open and they want Brenden and Landon!!! So starting in August, the boys get to go to Preschool! They are more than excited that they get to go to school "like the big kids..." and they're not the happiest that they dont get to ride a bus but mommy has to take them. I think we'll get past that last part but lets hope that they keep loving school and wanting to go. So...that's my good news!

Wii Love It!

2009-04-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

So I never posted that we got a Wii about a month ago. I was determined to find games that the kids could play and interact with. We got Mario cart for it and that's kinda fun they think. Then we got the Wii Fit because I'm determined to get "fit" (ha! who am i kidding, i have three kids...my body is no where near getting fit...) Anyways, i found that there are actually other games that you can get that go with the Wii Fit board and that the Wii Fit didnt come with just exercise stuff. There's a fun game with marbles that you have to get in holes. That's fun. Brendens a professional at it. Anyways, we've also learned to play Baseball on the Wii and mom and I are professional golfers and I myself have become a professional DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) Master - actually, the game says "Nobody moves like you!" and I'm thinking "Ha! No Kidding!" It's fun and a great stress relief. So, i figured that I'd post some picks of the kiddos playing with the Wii.

anyways, tomorrow i plan to get some time and post some of our "fun in the sun pictures"...but as for now, we're having too much "fun in the sun" to get em off the camera...

Pictures Pictures and more Pictures...and a little bit of what's going on...

2009-04-20T05:18:00.001-07:00

Well it's been a few. We had some rough news last week beginning a few weeks before Good Friday (read: the friday before easter). Anyways, my "other half" and BFF whom some of you may remember from my college days AND the maid of honor in my wedding named Jen recieved some terrible news. About 2 weeks before, she had gotten a call that her brother had been in an accident. HIs names is Elliot (30 years old) and he was a member of the Intelligence section of the United States Air Force in charge of briefing piliots before their missions. He has been to Iraq two times and has been an asset to our country being in contact with the Pentagon concerning the war in Iraq and other issues. In his spare time, he works at a golf course. The news that Jen had recieved was that Elliot was at work and had fallen backwards out of a truck onto the parking lot. He had hit his head but immediately gotten up and began talking to his friends. Instantly he collapsed, falling back to the ground. He was life-flighted to a well known hospital in Miami, close to where he lived in Florida. The doctors found a blood clot in his brain. They were able to remove the blood clot but they also had to remove part of his brain and skull. They removed his skull because his brain is swelling a lot and this way the brain would have room to expand. For the week and a half following, Elliot remained in critical condition and in a coma. On the 8th of April, he went into Cardiac Arrest and after 19 minutes of working on him, they brought him back. They werent sure of the cause of it but they were doing all types of tests on him to figure out the cause. The following day, Jen was able to fly down to see him and she and his long time girlfriend were on their way back from lunch. When they returned to the hospital they were greated by the staff treating Elliot and were informed that he had again went into cardiac arrest and this time, after 30 minutes of working to bring him back, they just werent able to do it. On April 10th, Elliot Lonz joined his father (who passed away in 2006 due to a blood clot in his lung after recovering from a terrible motorcycle accident) in heaven to watch down on four of the strongest people I know. My heart goes out to Jen, her mother Sandy, Elliots girlfriend Pat, Jens husband (and a good friend of mine as well) Brandon and the rest of their family. Such a great loss they have had and I can't imagine going through this. This is a main reason that I havent exactly posted b/c I have been in Norwalk, Ohio for the services for Elliot. Elliot was an avid golfer and after the service by the US Airforce, there was a 21 Golf Ball Salute for him (the services were held at a Golf Course that Elliot worked at in this area). It was a beautiful day for the services.

In the midst of all of that, Easter came and went and I didnt get to post about it. So, here are some pictures from Easter.

Brenden Finally Found his Easter Basket...after searching all over!

The boys try to figure out how to eat this candy that was left lying around.

Peyton thought that is was pretty cool to wake up and find toys hidden all over the place.

Before we could even blink, Peyton was eating a chocolate covored marshmallow egg...

We also had to take time out to find the eggs hiding around the house...
Aside from that, we've been enjoying the nice warm weather. We spent some time on the back deck playing with the bubbles that the Easter Bunny left us. I think the neighbors especially like the bubble whistles that the lovable easter bunny left us. Nice and high pitched, that Easter bunny must have really been thinkin!

Peyton learned to go up the slide on his own finally...so he keeps going up and down and up and down.I also captured some great pics of the boys sleeping - they're so close when they sleep...lol. Really, they each have their own beds...

We've also spent some time playing with Emily, my friend Ambers daughter. She's turning two this summer and is pretty close to the boys. While they weigh 30 lbs, Emily keep up with them and definatly weighs 34 lbs. We spent time riding four wheelers with her ( I dont even want to picture this when they're in their teens where this could be leading.....) and the twins even picked her flowers - which she graciously accepted and then threw to the ground.

So....that's about it for pictures! That's like a few weeks worth right there. So..check in later for more..when i get them!!!

Georgia on my mind....

2009-04-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

So, there we were, in beautiful Georgia. We visited in SC for a few and then drove another 4 hours to Georgia. I can see why they say "Georgia on my mind" - because it's so nice there, then I headed back to Ohio and the cold weather, Georgia is definitely going to be on my mind. Anyways, i have a few pics from the past few days so I thought I'd share.

Would you believe that we saw a train?! It was right before we got on the turnpike and Landon freaked out.
Our first break to eat. We had already made a potty break and this was our second potty break and we needed to eat at this one. Worked out great!!!!

So, I was so excited to get to the tunnels for the boys to get to see them. Obviously we missed them. Above: what the boys were doing.... Below: What we were driving through.....
Yeap, we missed both tunnels but that's aweosme b/c that meant that we were taking great naps and the trip down to see my friend wasnt as bad as everyone thought it would be.

The second tunnel in Virginia...missed that one too...
Our plan...divide and conquer. We started in South Carolina at Shawnas house....

And moved on once that was conquered to Laurens house in Georgia...
We love Laurens dogs ("you have two dogs lauren?" said brenden....)

Landon liked the Thomas the Train couch (Mommy said "smile pretty Landon for me")

And our plan worked - or so it seemed. Anyways, we spent one day at Tybee Island. It's an Island off the coast of Savanna, Georgia. We took the boys to the beach for the first time. They were so excited to see the beach and the lighthouses (like in Thomas the Train!!!) So, we left promply at 8:30 to get their in time for low tide b/c I guess Tybee Island has alot of sand dollars. Then we promply went back to the house b/c I forgot my debit card - now that wont get me far. Then, we were on our way with a few oops stops and turn arounds by Shaun - Laurens husband. Hence the annoyed look and sleeping kid in the next few pics.
But finally, we made it to the beach. Tybee Beach was beautiful! We got there and the tide was out so we walked out to find sand dollars. I carried Peyton the whole way b/c I didnt realize that we had to walk through the water and that far out to get them so I didnt bring a change of clothes for the boys. Brenden and Landon walked most of the time...
Then Lauren and i decided that 3 wet kids wasnt going to work because the water was too deep towards the middle.
So we carried them...well Lauren carried them from one sand bar to another (her walking back in the picture, Shaun standing with 2 of them.) Keep in mind how far the walk is - in the far back is Shaun and that's how far we went out.Now, you see how far we've walked out there. He's what happened. We walked out onto the sandbars (see pic above) and were looking for sand dollars. We found some, they're beautiful. Well, after a little bit, i asked if we should start walking back before tide came in. We all decided to so we began walking back thinking that it looked that after we passed through the knee deep water that had filled back in, we'd be able to walk right onto the beach. We made it to the sand bar and realized that there was a lake inbetween where we were and the beach. Great. Just great. Now, 3 adults, 2 two year olds, two one year olds and a 4 year old...and all trapped on a sand bar. So...Shaun carried two one year olds back and Lauren slowly made her way with Cameron, her 4 year old son. Then, Shaun came back for one of the twins and we waded through chest deep water at points...mainly stomach deep. What a time, i was freaking out. The boys were freaking out - i later found out that it's because Landon dropped his shells in the water on the way over to the beach. Other than that issue, we were lucky but we had a great time!
Above is the boys and I standing in front of the sign that says do not go past here yada yada ya. The sand way out there, that's where we were stuck.

Here's the boys before we left. Landon was crying and Peyton was finally able to walk on the sand...just like the big boys. Finally we went to eat and then got to see the lighthouse. There's only one on the island, which after reading a little about it, i found that it's the 4th built and it's used to navigate around the island. By the time we got there, the Peyton, Natalie and Cameron were all sleeping so Brenden, Landon, Shaun and I got out of the car took pics and went right back into the car. Before we could pull out of the parking lot, all of the kids were sleeping.

Anyways, we're back now finally. I'm missing the 80 Degree weather and sun but it's nice to be back home. The trees were green down there and the boys noticed that and also mentioned that the trees (palm trees) looked funny to them.

God Bless everyone else in the whole wide world...

2009-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! I know it's been awhile but we've been out pretty much every day. Last weekend was the MoM Sale and would you believe I had soooo much stuff that I was top seller?! We did a great job and there were actually 3 of us that made over $1,000. So, that was last weekend - Rick had the boys from Friday morning to Saturday night when I was done with all the sale stuff. I also managed to sneak in some larangitis the day of the sale and the 3 following days afterwards. I'm just managing to get my voice back. We havent done much other than that as I'm trying to get the boys over their colds. It seems that every time the weather gets nice, we're doomed to get sick afterwards. We're finally sleeping though the night without coughing now.

I also spent a few days indulging myself in the Twilight books. Definatly recomending them to anyone to read. After all that, i'm searching for a sparkly vampire to sweep me off my feet - they seem better than any guy I know. LOL.

I have exciting news! Well, atleast for the boys and I. My friend Shawna had a baby about a month ago. She lives in South Carolina right over the boarder from North Carolina. Since I'm starting school again in May, I've decided to use the money that I got from the MoM Sale and go down to visit her. I know - brave huh. Me and 3 kiddos. Anyways, we're going to leave next wednesday and I'm hoping to leave early that way we can drive all day and not have to stop anywhere to sleep. I realize that I'm going to have to stop and "walk the kids" so i bought another backpack/leash for Peyton. (Ya know, for years, i swore that I would NEVER use a leash for my kids, it looked rediculious and rude. Now I own three.) Anyways, I'll be able to walk my kids like that without them running off like crazies onto the turnpike. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone but we're stopping in SC to see Shawna and her baby and then we're going to go a little further south and see Lauren and Cameron in Hinesville Georgia. We'll do some outlet shopping and then we're going to head to the beach for a day. We'll head back up to stop at Shawnas house on the way home and then we'll probably be back the following Wednesday night. I'm excited to take the boys out of state for the first time like this - other than going to Kranacks (sp?) and finally get to take them to the beach for the first time. This should be an experience. LOL.

So, as it's taken me all day to write this blog, we just put the kids to bed. Mom was doing prayers with one of the boys while I took one to the potty and then we'd switch. So, this is the conversation between Brenden and Mom that I heard while standing in the bathroom:

Mom: God Bless Mom
Brenden: God bless mom, and dad and Lan and P and Toby and Diesel (pauses)
Mom: And God bless Gi Gi
Brenden: Gi Gi and Great PaPaw and Aunt Susan (pauses...thinking)
Mom: Yeah, and Aunt Susan and Meredith and Kayden and Kaleb and Derrick and Uncle Brian
Brenden: (thinking...) Yeah, where is Uncle Brian???
Mom: Well, they're all at their houses, everyones getting ready to go to bed too.
Brenden: Yeah, and God bless Great Grandma Trescott
Mom: Yeah, Great Grandma Trescott...
Brenden: And Aunt Becky...(thinks)...where is Aunt Becky at?
Mom: Well, Aunt Becky's at home - she lives in the Boonies.
Brenden: In the Boonies? Where that at?
Mom: Uhm, the boonies, that's really far away. See we live in Louisville and Aunt Becky lives way far away in the boonies.
Brenden: Boonies this far away? (Stretches his arms way out to the sides)
Mom: Yeap, they're about that far.
Brenden: Oh....and God bless everyone else in the whole wide world.

So...that's about it for now. I'm sitting here watching idol...I'm thinking Adam Lambert is going to win. I'm all about him.

Trains Trains and More Trains

2009-03-15T04:31:00.000-07:00

So it all started out with a commercial on TV with trains on it. The boys mouths about hit the floor, Brenden asked to see the commercial again - like we could do that, and Landon told everyone in like a 3 mile radius. WEll, before they knew it, we had even planned on going. It was at the IX Center in Cleveland and planned for this weekend.The boys didnt kow that we had already planned to take them and when we told them we had a surprise for them, they started trying to guess what it was. There were two theories. It began with the idea that they were going to go see Monster Trucks - they love them so why woudnt we take them. (2 year olds? to see monster trucks? sounds uhm, not like a good idea...) Well, their second guess and the one that they went with was we were going to eat Birthday Cake. Brenden, Landon and Grandma and Pap were blowing candles out. Not mommy though - they were adiment about that. Anyways, we took them up there yesterday and it was a great time. Check out our pictures!

Brenden, Peyton and Landon watch a HUGE train go around. It had to be atleast 20 train cars long. It was huge and they made the mistake of stopping right infront of the boys.
The boys got Thomas the Train hats and wore them the rest of the time there...and this morning...and for sure the rest of today.
I thougth this was pretty cool. This set was completely made out of Lego's. The trains, the ships, the buildings, the cars, the plants
Yeap, still all Legos...
Once again, still all Legos.
Now, they also had a section set up with train tracks and trains that the kids could build and play with. We spent alot of time here.
Anyways, we had alot of fun and got some new trains that we'd never seen before and that we obviously dont have!

Those new pics i told you about

2009-03-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

So we finally were able to upload the pictures that we got from Ollen Mills. Here they are!

Brenden and Landon can be so totally cheesy LOL. Peyton didnt want to sit for anything!

Brenden actually took a semi good picture!

Landon was so cheesy this day!
Peyton was not wanting to cooperate either!

Go Brenden Go!

2009-03-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

Something I forgot to share with everyone but I thought was totally cute. Our new favorite show around here is "Go Diego Go!" and it's on the lines of Dora the Explorer but for some reason, I cant stand Dora and find Diego bearable - slightly. Tolerable? I can handle it I guess. Now on Diego, if he has a problem seeing the animal that he's trying to save, he'll ask the kids to put their hands up to their eyes like Binoculars and see if they can help see them. So anyways, It's not that often that I get to take just one of the kids with me somewhere but the other day, we planned spaghetti and the sauce that we didnt have planned different. So, Brenden and I went to Giant Eagle to find spaghetti sauce (and juice and milk and treats Brenden reminded me...). Anyways, on our way out of Giant Eagle, Brenden heard the train down the road on the tracks (which you cant see from the parking lot). He goes "Mom! I hear a choo choo train! We go see choo choo?" and I explained to him as I put him in the van, throw my purse in the front seat (not paying attention exaclty to what he was doing now in the van) and then put the few things we bought in the spare seat. I looked up, hearing Brenden saying "Mom, me no see choo choo" with his hands up to his eyes like he was holding binoculars. He was truely looking for this train and was disapointed that he coudln't see it with his "binuoculars". It was one of those things that I just had to laugh when he did it b/c normally, Brenden and Landon talk and dont say much to us in the car unless it's telling us about the truck or car that we passed. So after that incident, on the way home, we went over the small bridge that goes over the creek on Miday. Brenden started cracking up and said "Mom, that bridge tickeled my belly!" Then that same night, we had to go to Aunt Kathys house for a little bit after supper. She lives in an area where the roads are all brick and a little bumpy. Landon goes "Mommy! We on choo choo tracks!" and Brenden follows up with "Mom! Aunt Kathy road tickles by belly!" When we stopped at her house, my breaks (which are new after a trip to the shop to get oil changed and tires rotated - go figure) squealed and Landon goes "Mom, there's a bird in your car" and Peyton starts going "Tweet tweet tweet!" I was laughing hysterically when I got out of the van. Anyways, I'm taking a break for the day, Rick'll have the kids for the day and I'm spending some time with my friend - we may just end up down at the farm to clean our vans out (yeah, we're cool, we have mini-vans....) So....i'll catch ya'll later :-)

Peytons Cardiologist Appointment

2009-03-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well today, Peyton had his cardiologist appointment in Cleveland with Dr. Erenberg. He wasnt the happiest to see a doctor, let alone have her talk to him or try to touch him. So, while the appointment went awesome, Peyton cried and screamed the whole time. She said that you can still hear the murmer in his heart and isnt getting worse either. She said in some cases, they get better but if it doesnt, it's not exactly a big deal. They're still concerned about what they call mild pulmonary stenosis or narrowing of the arteries where they were put together at. She's not too concerned b/c he's not showing any concerning symptoms so next check up in 6 months, she'll check it. Now, she mentioned also that she's leaving Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital. She told us that she couldnt tell us where she was going b/c of Rainbows policy but she could tell us that she was staying in Cleveland. Then she added "You can probably guess where I'm going..." So I asked if it was the Cleveland Clinic and she said "Yes!" So we'll be following her to the cleveland Clinic for Peytons care. May as well stay with the same doctor who checked him since before he was born. Anyways, that's about how it went, pretty well and we go back this fall. That's about all!!!

2009-03-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

So...just a quick update. I had an interview with Ashland University in Massillon. I talked to the guy that would be my advisor and it was awesome. As we were talking, i found that his wife is a teacher at Brinkerhoff in Mansfield where I did one of my student teaching blocks. Turns out that he is good friends with my cooperating teaching from there. Then, the more we talked, he used to be the Principal at the school where I did my actual student teaching at and knows the teaching that I worked with. Not that any of that matters but it was kinda nice to be back in a situation where I feel I can "network" kinda and get where I need to be. He also mentioned that some classes are internet classes so I have to have a newer computer. I told him I had just gotten a computer and we got to talking about it and he was so excited about the DellOutlet.com site that he was going to go online and look that night. Anyways, he told me before I walked out that I needed to be sure to come back to register on the 23rd of March. So....starting in May, i'll be a graduate student...by the end of this summer, I'll have my core classes out of the way and only a few more to take - okay maybe like 7ish or so more - but either way, I'm getting there!!!! Anyways, I got bored and dyed my hair back to the color it was before I colored it redish. Ugh. Stress does that to me - I also got my hair chopped - well trimmed...

Sick, Sick and more...

2009-02-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

SICK!!! I'm talking 103.5 temps and all the other stuff that goes with it. I'm sick and tired of sick. Ugh. Monday night, Brenden went to bed with a fever of 102.2. Little did I know what was going to come of the next few days. Brenden woke up that night getting sick and with a temp of 103.5. It just got worse from there. By the next day around noon, Landon had the same thing and was laying on the couch vowing to never eat again. He wanted nothing to do with food. Anyways, after a few calls to the Dr. and some trips to the medicine shop (which sells non colored Anti-biotics *remember that post about Red #40? Well it's in most kids medecine too...* Walmart doesnt carry non colored antibiotics. ) Anyways, at the end of the week now, we seem to be getting over the fever and other issues that go along with it but we're still feeling kinda under the weather with a cough. Who made the rule that tall three kids had to get sick at the same time? Anyways, below is pretty much how we spent Tuesday. Did I mention pictures were scheduled for Wednesday? Needless to say, Wednesday came and went and I rescheduled pictures. We finally got them done today. I'll definately post them, hand some out at Grandma C's and head down to the farm with them to hand some more out ;-) .
So, the night before last, which would have been Wednesday night, I went into check the boys before I went to bed, like I always do. Now, we've caught them sleeping in each others beds before...but never in the same bed...until now:
Totally cute. Totally. Now, today's my B-day. Since the boys cant have the food coloring, we had to revamp our Birthday plans for a cake. No more icecream cake because the frosting definately can contain coloring. So, angel food cake doesnt contain it (though the Funfetti Cakes do...) and we put a little twist on the Angel food cake. We cut the cake in half.....and layered it with whipped cream and strawberries:
After that, we put the top back on:
Then, we finished off the whipped cream on the outside and layered the top with strawberries...
Looks good huh. But who was to know....so we had to taste test.....

Well, I guess it's good. We'll have to wait until later to find out. Gi Gi and Great Pa Paw are coming over for dinner ... Have a great day!!! I'll share the pictures when they come in!!!

Massillon Rec Center with MOM's

2009-02-22T18:47:00.001-08:00

Wow! What a great time we had to day. The boys and I ventured to Massillon to the Massillon Rec Center to swim - duh what else do you do when it's snowing outside. Anyways, we had so much fun! Infact, when it came time to leave, all I heard was "we come back again?!" We all went and met the CMOM's (Canton Mothers of Multiples) there (which I officially became a member of today - after saying "Ya know, one year I'd like to join that....") Anyways, it was alot of fun playing with the boys in the water and trying to keep myself and the camera out of the water. There's water slides and a lazy river and a toddler area with water falling everywhere. They boys had a blast and froze their little buns off. It was kinda cold in there but we were tough and made it though. We floated in the lazy river a bit and then went up the slide and down the slide and up the slide and down the slide and up the....well you get the point.
Brenden Playing with the stream of water coming from the cannons.
Brenden and another twinkie playing with the cannon - I think they were shooting someones dad who was in the middle.

Landon getting ready to slide down the slide.

Landon on his zillionth trip around the slide.

Brenden going down the slide. it was a pirate ship that looked like it had been docked. The steps were in the back and water slid down the whole slide.

Potty Training and Red #40

2009-02-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we've been in potty training city. And...we're almost out! The boys have gone for the past few days with no accidents. We have also ventured out to the store and back before needing to go potty again! I think we're on the verge of something!!!! Yeah!!! Only one more kid in diapers now! Okay, well i'm getting a little bit ahead of myself - we have to master no diapers at night too but we've almost got naps down!

We have also had a new breakthrough in Nanny 911 Naps and Bedtime from Hell. I was talking to a few people and looking online and found that the artificial colors in foods can cause ADHD Type symptoms. I began thinking about what the boys eat that they never ate before we moved in with Mom and Dad. When we lived in the apartment, we ate what we could get from WIC for obvious money reasons or lack thereof. We ate cereal like Cheerios and Kix - now that we live here at Mom and Dads aand the boys are a little bit older, they've began eating cerals like Stawberry Frosted Mini Wheats and Captain Crunch. We're also taking vitamins now which we didnt take before when we lived in the apartment. The more I looked into this, I found that the artificial color Red #40 causes alot of these problems along with Yellow #6. Yeah, I know, colors and numbers shouldnt be blamed for the way that kids act - BUT THEY CAN! Let me tell you, since I decided about a week ago to change what they eat and make sure that nothing has artificial colors in it, the boys have been completely different. Since we've moved in here, Landon has become so hyper, bouncing off the walls and taking anywhere from 1 -2 hours to go to bed and that's with someone watching them so they stay in bed and fall asleep. I know, i know, it soundsl ike they're 2 and thats what two year olds do right? Wrong! Since we've taken out the artificial colors, it has taken us maybe half an hour to put them to bed and for the first time since we got their toddler beds, I layed them down on my own and they stayed in their beds and were sleeping within 20 mintues. Now, sure, we may have just been getting lucky but today proved it all. Rick is in their room trying to get them to bed - why? Because they wont stay in their beds and they're jumping all over the place b/c he gave them fruit punch - with Red #40. I'm just sittin here watching b/c I didn't give it to them. He can learn firsthand why I changed what they eat. Anyways, its about time for my show to come on so there'll be pictures and such later. Have a great night!!!

"How Long You Been Farming?"

2009-02-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

I'm sad to say but I think that these boys are going to be true, blue country boys. I mean what the heck, i was raised like this but....i don't recall getting my first tractor at 2 1/2.

Landon on his new John Deere Tractor from Grandma and Pap.
Brenden on his new John Deere tractor.
So for the last few weeks we've been potty training. It's rough...about so rough that Peyton runs around with underwear on his head. Okay so I was folding clothes and he was tearing them out of the basket so I put them on his head and sent him on his way around the house showing everyone his "new hat". He's walking now by the way - everywhere he goes, he walks.
What a silly little guy - he's got so many facial expressions....

So...now they'll wear glasses...

2009-01-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

So for Christmas, my best friend Ambers mom got the boys those straws that we loved as kids...ya know, the ones that are glasses and you put one end in the cup and the other end in your mouth. Now, I had a pair of these when I was younger...dont recall if I liked them or not but...i'm pretty sure that my mom prolly didnt. Anyways, she got these for them and they LOVE them. LOVE them. So...without wasting anymore time..Brenden trying to figure them out. As a side not, we found new shirts that fit our personalities just great. Brendens says "NO! You Calm down!"

We finally got them working. They're just so cool...hahaha - and great fun to wash.
Landon helping Brenden drink out of the cup.
Brenden helping Landon drink out of the cup.

Landons shirt, which you cant see in the pictures, says "I do all my own stunts" and has a stick figure on it. Fits perfectly. Peyton was wearing one that night that said "Night Watch". Which brings me to my next topic, Peytons newest pasttime is sneaking back to the bedroom and crawling into the toddler beds - only to crawl out face first.
Then the boys decided that if he's going to be in their beds, they'll just get in his bed...and so I found them tonight - in his bed. Check out the height that Landons getting as he's jumping - which is why we put them in toddler beds.

Just wanted to share the story of my life....

2009-01-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

'Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit."

- From an email from my wonderful and very happily married Grandma C (aka GiGi)

*Thanks Grandma - i needed it.

There's no days like snow days....

2009-01-26T18:15:00.000-08:00

Well, these are the pictures that I couldnt find to post from when the last big snow hit us. They were burried beneath all of the car pictures that i have to sell. Anyways, I thought they were all kinds of cute and I wanted to get them posted eventually.

Okay, so we made a snowman....and got a little bit distracted in the process....Landon sitting on the snowman in picture above.
Learned how to make snow angels...I think they should be called "snow heathens" b/c that's definately what these two are. LOL. Brenden and then Landon in the pic above.
Brenden on top of the snowman...they thought they were pretty much cool. LOL.

And the finished product plus two frozen kiddos. We had to make it in the backyard in the way back b/c Peyton couldnt see it from the window if we made it closer.

And...Ally asked what I was going back to school for. It started out that I have to renew my license to go back to teaching b/c I only have a 2 year license. So, i knew that I could take classes towards my masters and use them to renew my license. You have to have your masters completed within 5 years I believe. Anyways, I went to Ashland (Massillon Branch) to talk to them about taking classes for renewing my license and the awesome lady I talked to gave me a great idea. She mentioned about taking classes towards getting my reading endorsement as well. So....since they're all going to go towards teh same thing, I can go back to school for my masters ( A masters in Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy), renew my license (woo hoo i'll be able to teach again!) and get a reading endorsement all at the same time - which is awesome. Plus, Ashland is offering a buy one get one free tuition this summer. I'll pay for one class and take two! So....here's to summer classes, a new computer and.....me getting myself back on my feet.

Stuff they dont teach you in school and Landons Appointment

2009-01-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

Well after spending an interesting day down at the farm "washing my car" and "cleaning out the inside"...i learned a few things (ya know, the type of things they dont teach ya in school) 1.) The hole in the back of the woodburner that you can see flames through - it's NOT supposed to be there. 2.) There's atleast one hot nut down there and Jeffs not afraid to touch it. 3.) Peytons shorter than the boys b/c it runs in the family ;-) ....and Aunt becky reminded me that I never posted about how Cleveland with Landon went.This is our little trooper. I went in irate with the doctor. Last time we were there, I wasnt able to meet him or talk with him b/c Peyton was getting his exam done at the same time. So when he came out with a perscription for glasses and a box of patches, I wasnt a happy camper. I know why his eyes are turning in - it doest take a rocket scientist. They're turned in ever since they had to cut the muscles to put the radiation plaque in. So now, his vision isnt the greatest, he wont wear glasses and the patch wouldnt stay on longer than ten minutes AND we had to wait three months from the time of scheduling to get him in. So we got there and I was determined to go in and tell that doctor that Landon needed the surgery - Dr. Singh seemed to think so too. Anyways, they checked Landons vision and he did great. He could name the Christmas tree, House, Horse, Jeep and birthday cake with ease - with his left eye. The right eye wasnt so great. So...here's what's going on. The doctor knew what my plans were b/c I had already told his nurse and she wrote it down. So, he said to have Landon wear the patch for 4 hours a day. After 4 hours, he can take it off. Do this for 3 months and then we're going back. At the next apointment which is scheduled in April, we'll see how his vision is. Wearing the patch should improve his vision as it's straitens out his right eye as soon as you put it on. Dr. Traboulsi said that if his vision has improved and his eye has started to straigten out on its own, then we'll do the surgery to straiten them out. The problem with doing the surgery now is that if his eyes arent straight b/c of his vision, then doing the surgery wont matter b/c they'll turn back to compensate again. So, for now....Landon knows this:

...and that's about all. Have a great day - i'm off to find a hotwheel price guide so I can sell all these cars.

a little bit of nothing really....

2009-01-14T19:51:00.000-08:00

Scrub a dub dub, i put all three of my kiddos in the tub...because it saves me time and I only get completely soaked from being splashed once. Thank God I only have 3 kids, four wont fit.
"No doctor, Peyton doesn't eat crayons...why are you asking?"
"The green on his mouth you ask? That's um....."
"Well, okay, you see.....it's like this, he thinks his Crayola Crayon holder is a nose kisser (ie bulb syringe) and keeps trying to "suck his nose out with it" - putting it up to his nose and snorting a few times....

Calvin Klein watch out...Brenden is one cool, stylish dude...the bottom half would include the elmo big boy underwear...no pants...just big boy underwear b/c we're trying our hardest to potty train...yea, ask me how that's going.....

Landon, multitasking...talking to Gab (Great Aunt Beck) and coloring...Okay, it's bedtime now, just wanted to share the few pics that i managed to upload. We get to venture out in the snowstorm tomorrow to take Landon to see Dr. Traboulsi at the Cleveland Clinic about his eyes again - maybe this time he'll just tell us that we can have the surgery done and his eyes will be so much better.....anyways, thought's and prayers tomorrow !!!!! Thanks!

Here's to you GAB

2009-01-14T10:11:00.000-08:00

So, Landon for the past few days has been walking around on his "cell phone". He carries it in his pocket and will occasionally answer it and talk on it. Gab, would you believe he's talking to you?
I asked him in the morning who he as talking to and he said "aunt Becky"...I said "Oh, really?" and he said yes.....check it out

So, Gab, thanks for calling Landon - I'm pretty sure that we dont have a plan for that phone so....keep it short :-)

Until next time....

"Mom - Snow!"

2009-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

So that's what i woke up to today. The boys knew when they went to bed that it was snowing. They also knew that we told them that when they got up, they could maybe go sledding. So, on the monitor i heard, "Lan, (s)now, ouddide...." which in Brenden talk translated to "Landon, it snowed outside". To which Landon answered "Yeah! (s)now!" and so the day went...we got up, ate breakfast, got dressed and waited to go outside. We were out and playing at 10 am. What a great, cold morning! Anyways, in the inch of snow (and that's being generous on the amount), we played and played and played....Even Peyton got in on the fun...for a few minutes - he thought it was way too cold and it was definately time for a nap in a nice warm bed.
So, other than that, not much has been going on. I've been busy posting ALL of Ricks diecast cars on ebay.

Brenden, Landon, Peyton: Professional Unwrappers

2008-12-29T04:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, well it's that time of the year. Time for wrapping and unwrapping and more unwrapping and even more unwrapping! Our first stop to unwrap presents was on Christmas Eve Day at Laurens House. She was so excited b/c she had made stockings for the boys (Thomas the Train stockings...) and as you know, we're huge Thomas Fans.
Brenden opening his present from Aunt Lauren. They were sure what to do at first and were confused but after the first present and no one yelled at them for ripping things open - it was like they had been unwrapping all their lives.

Peyton opened his present from Aunt Lauren but then became distracted by Natalie and her new toy. The boys all got her a new jumpy and dance toy that plays music and sings and blinks and makes alot of noise - Lauren was sure to thank us for this and vowed to get even until I told her that I got one for Peyton too. When Peyton and Natalie were playing with this, he would hold the bear on the top still for Natalie to eat. LOL.

Right before Natalie opened her present, Landon seemed to think that Natalie needed help.

Our second stop was at Ricks moms house ( even though we were going there on Christmas too...????) Below is Brenden and Landon opening their presents.

After a full day of opening presents on Christmas Eve, we went home for a nap in time for mommy to finish wrapping the presents and Daddy to go to a party (ugh). After a short nap, it was full blast toys again and bedtime couldnt come soon enough. Needless to say, the kiddos were in bed and eagerly awaiting Christmas - even though I'm pretty sure they're not sure what they were so excited for.

Christmas Morning as they came rushing down the hall in unison you hear: "Oh wow!" and it was non stop from then on.
Brenden and Landon opening a matchbox city - finally something to drive cars on other than mommy's legs and feet.

Peyton is definately a professional using only one hand to open presents. What a little trooper lol.

This was the Thomas the train sets that they boys got from Santa this year. We only had a pack of track and about 20 trains before this. Santa sure was good to these three Thomas Nuts. If you ask them what their favorite present was they'll tell you matter of factly: James (the red train from Thomas).

Well, i have more pictures to share but i'ts about time i go to bed...we're switching to toddler beds and it's like Nanny 911 Hell. Really. Check for more later!

Random stuff and Cleveland Update

2008-12-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

LOL, okay - i was having fun with the camera snapping shots and.....I took this of Peyton.
My two crazies ??under the highchair?? What are they really thinking? This seems to be the cool place to hang out. They're total goobers (see picture below). I think that Brendens got the smiling thing down...lol.

And.....

Today, in the midst of the icy rain, we had to venture to Cleveland. That's right. The boys (Brenden and Landon) had their doctors appointment with Dr. Singh.Brenden when he was brought out into recovery. He has never gotten this red before right after surgery. Anyways, the good news? Dr. Singh didnt find anything!!! He said that he couldnt beleive how big they were getting. Also, He said that he's sure that Brenden has 20/20 vision. Thank God, after all he's gone through, he didnt turn out needing to have his eye removed like I did and he's got awesome vision.
Landon when he came out into recovery. He had the tube in his mouth still to help him breath and keep his tongue down. We had to keep an eye on it though b/c last time we were there, he woke up and bit his lip b/c of it. That ruined the whole day. Anyways, Dr. Singh didnt find anything new with Landon either which is awesome news! It's been over a year now! He says that as far as Landons vision goes, he wants to wait and see what Dr. Traboulsi says about his eye turning in. In our opinion, it's because when the muscles were reattatched, they were swollen and didnt get attatched tight enough. That is causing the eye to turn in. But...just our opinion. So...that's about it for now.

In the Holiday spirit - taking a break from shopping and all....

2008-12-14T04:41:00.001-08:00

I found this on a message board that I'm quite addicted to...When this season gets to be too much - just read this poem...

Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode
Only one creature was stirring, & she was cleaning the commode.

The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,
while visions of Nintendo 64 & Barbie, flipped through their heads.

The dad was snoring in front of the TV,
with a half-constructed bicycle propped on his knee.

So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,
which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,
She descended the stairs, & saw the old man.

He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a shrug,
"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."
"your gift was especially difficult to make."

"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."
"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"
"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."

Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,
Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.
You'll relax, take it easy, watch The Young & The Restless."

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"
"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"

From the room above, the youngest did fret.
Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared & I'm wet."

The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."
"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."

The clone changed the small one & hummed her tune,
as she bundled the child in a blanket cocoon.

"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."
The clone smiled & sighed, "And I love you, too."

The mom frowned & said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal."
That's my child's LOVE she is trying to steal."

Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear, Only one loving mother
is needed here."

The mom kissed her child & tucked her in bed.
"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.

I sometimes forget it won't be very long,
when they'll be too old for my cradle & song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.
Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."

With the clone by his side Santa said "Goodnight.
Merry Christmas, dear Mom, You will be all right."

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about.
Especially at times during the Holiday season, when all we seem to do
is clean and bake and shop and and and and and and and.... You get the picture, I'm sure.

So stop for a moment and hug that little one so special, whether he/she is
2 or 22, or even older than that. For they are the Gift that God gave us in
life... and what a gift to be treasured, far above any other!
May the real meaning of Christmas be with you all this year, is my prayer.

Late....but here it is!

2008-12-13T19:22:00.000-08:00

So i just realized something, either it's way past my bedtime and I'm losing my mind or...I forgot to post Peytons Birthday Video. I think i tried to post it but it got lost lol. So...here it is.

Walking on Sunshine!

2008-12-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

Yeah! We're walking finally...unsteady but we've got the idea and in no time we'll be chasing our brothers and sending mommy up the wall.

I'm coming home!

2008-12-06T05:27:00.001-08:00

Peyton doing his carseat challenge on the 5th. He passed it with flying colors. He had to keep his stats up and keep relatively calm over the two hours. LOL, they were worried about it - Peyton slept for the whole two hours. He kept his stats up and they were so proud of them. He was aloud to leave!

...AND...

One year ago today, we brought Peyton home. Let me tell you what a fanclub he had waiting to tell him good bye. He had numerous doctors and nurses there to see him off. They called him "Peyton Manning" even though we did not name him after Peyton Manning. They would get him up and walk around at night with him getting him used to being moved around and all and they'd fight over who got to walk him around at night.
This is Dr. Zhacka and a med student. Dr. Zhacka came in alot to see Peyton, he was also his pediatric cardiologist. He seemed to think the world of Peyton. When we left the hospital and had to schedule for Peytons appointment, unfortunately, Dr. Zhacka was on vacation and we are now seeing a different doctor.
This is the night nurse that ended up walking Peyton around alot at night. He seemed to like her, and was fussy with most other nurses.

Brenden and Landon meet peyton for the first time. He was so bundled up i'm pretty sure they didnt know what he was. They both just said "baby". Soon after, it turned from "baby" to "baby PP"...now it's just "NO NO BABY P!"

What a happy family. Brenden and Landon werent the happiest campers...new baby or not. All in all, they love their little brother. I guess he's grown on them. LOL.

Anyways, happy one year coming home anniversary! Yeah for our beautiful little heart baby. He's come so far.

My Black Friday shoppers and some chocolate pudding.

2008-12-04T10:51:00.000-08:00

So, even though in 2 more days, Peyton will have the one year anniversary of him coming home (!!!) I'm going to take a second and let ya in on what we've been up to. A break from the sad stuff. We've been shopping, looking through sale papers and newspapers and .... well playing with the papers. LOL. Ya see, We (Lauren and I) hit the stores like crazy on black friday (yeap, we were definately the first ones in line at Target) , spent all our money and then took the kiddos out before naptime. All in a days work I guess. Anyways, the kids love shopping....for "gifts for Cameron "(Laurens son) although they cant figure out why cameron gets all of the thomas stuff and they dont. LOL - I so cant wait until Christmas! Anyways, they love shopping - and going through the papers....something like this -
Oh, yeah and I cut my hair if you didnt notice. It's about chin lenght...baby steps to short hair, baby steps. LOL. I tried to dye it too - though my hair isnt quite cooperative about that, the dark brown ended up black and I ended up looking quite EMO (the Emo Romulan look - short, thick, greasy, dyed-black hair with bangs cut straight across the forehead, and cut high over the ears. Bangs in front and spikes in back is very emo too.) So I told Rick i was so depressed b/c of my life that i was going EMO and blaming it on him. I think he was confused by this.
Moving on, "Grandma" made chocolate pudding for a "snack" one night before bed. LOL, i mean before bath rather b/c that's what they ended up needing. Peyton can almost use a spoon - see?!

So ever since before I moved out of the apartment, Peyton has always watched his brothers with envy as they climed on their prized Bounce and Spin Zebra and ride and spin it. Well, finaly the day came, right after his birthday that he could do it himself, he crawled over to the Zebra, stood up to it and hiked a leg over, sliding the rest of the way on to it. Now, he's a pro at it. You can hardly keep him off of it, even though when he does ride on it, he can only touch the ground with one foot. He loves it though.

And, finally, along with my previous post, and the looking back - this picture was from 2 years ago today. So, this is the first year that I have not spent today in a hospital room for 2 years. Yeah! That's good news! This is Brenden and I at the Cleveland Clinic before their EUA. He looks a little loopy - because he is! They give them meds to calm them down so they get pretty loopy. Anyways, just wanted to share that. I've been going through pics on my laptop and desktop organizing them so i came across this! Have a great day...

Just a day of rest and relaxation

2008-12-04T04:26:00.000-08:00

Just a day to relax and get better. Peyton was looking forward to his carseat challenge. They had moved rooms on us and though we were still in the PICU. They had decided not to move us to the other floor. Thank God b/c the PICU was right down the hall from my cubby hole or what they call, my room. Anyways, On the 5th he was going to do the carseat challenge. He had to keep his stats up while in a carseat for 2 hours. I also learned wtih the help of a nurse how to tell when he was having issies with his heart. When the machine would go off, I knew what to look for if it were bad or not. Knowing that, I could figure out why it was happening. Peytons heart would occasionally race and have too many beats. I figured out that this only happened when he was crying or upset. Good thing to know. Anyways, besides that, he just relaxed and recovered. They did some tests on his like the ECHO on his heart to make sure it looked good and it did!