The New Year Has Brought Wonderful Things!

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

'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....

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

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?

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...

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

I introduce:

The Shredded Paper Massacre

I've been nominated!!!

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!!