Updated Photos of the "Black Eye"

Ben's eye is definitely more bruised this morning, but it is mostly on his eyelid so you don't really notice it unless he looks down or closes his eye...

A Trip to the ER and a Black Eye

I told myself I would blog at least once a week, but I've already broken that rule. I'll try to do better, but our lives have been crazy as usual. So since I last blogged Henry has received two more biting notifications (for a total of four), I have been to Austin and back, Andy and I spent a morning in the Presby ER, Ben got a black eye, and the Longhorns beat UT and are now ranked #1!

I can't believe how big the boys are getting. Ben is now walking well, and Henry is almost running. And now that cooler weather is approaching, they are wearing some of their new school clothes. The other day I dressed them in their new blue jeans, t-shirts, and New Balance shoes. They looked like little boys and reminded me of the commercial (I think it is MasterCard) with the two little boys with their backpacks at school and then their friend joins them and they are dancing the Robot. The first time I saw that commercial was shortly after the boys were born and I told Andy that was our boys in a few years (Andy's favorite - and only - dance is the Robot so it is only fitting that Ben and Henry will learn it). So when I saw them dressed in their little jeans ready for school, plus the fact that they have started dancing whenever they hear music, I thought of that commercial. It always makes me smile.

In other news, Andy took me to the ER yesterday morning because I was having chest pain and trouble breathing. The chest pain started Monday but just felt like I was coming down with something. By Tuesday it was worse, but I had an appointment with my doctor that morning anyway so I brought it up with her. She was concerned and ordered an EKG and a chest x-ray. Both came back negative so she ordered a stress test which I was supposed to do this morning. So yesterday morning I woke up and the pain was worse plus I was having trouble catching my breath. I knew my doctor had done all the tests she was capable of doing and would therefore send me to the hospital so I just had Andy take me there after we dropped the boys off at school. Fortunately, there was no one at the Presby ER so we did not have to wait at all. They took my vitals and found that my heartrate was high - over 100. So they did another EKG and chest x-ray. My rapid heartrate had them concerned so they ordered a CT scan to check for a blood clot. They even talked about admitting me for more tests because they couldn't explain the elevated heartrate. Finally, an internal medicine doctor was consulted and determined that I had a virus which was causing my heartrate to go up. The CT scan also showed fluid in my chest cavity which explained the chest pain and difficulty breathing. So I was sent home with some meds which have relieved the pressure so I am feeling much better now. And Andy got to have lunch in the hospital cafeteria, which he considers a real treat!

In case we didn't have enough excitement yesterday, Ben and Henry's teacher called and left me a message this afternoon to say that Ben had an accident at school. Apparently he was reaching for something (probably climbing to get it) and fell and hit his left eye on the corner of a bookshelf. He has a cut above his eye but is otherwise okay. As you can see, it is a little swollen but not really black although we'll see what he looks like in the morning.

Mr. Mom, the 15-month Check-up, and a Trip to Waco

Another busy week has passed. Andy had his first big dose of being Mr. Mom since Rosalina left. I flew to Denver on Monday morning, stayed there for two days, flew from Denver to Phoenix on Wednesday morning, and flew home late Thursday night. In case it wasn't enough to leave him alone with the boys for 4 days, Henry woke up at 5:00 a.m. Monday morning with a fever. Not an easy thing to do to leave for the airport when you have a sick kiddo at home. But Andy said he would be able to stay home with them (he didn't want to have to take Ben to school and then pick him up so Ben got to play hooky) so I left. Everyone was feeling better on Tuesday so he took the boys to school. On Wednesday, I called to check on them and Andy said that Henry had gotten him sick. He was miserable. And on Thursday, Andy ended up staying home sick by himself (he decided to go to the trouble of taking the boys to school and picking them up so he could have some peace and quiet).

When I picked Ben and Henry up on Friday afternoon, their teachers, Miss Maggie and Miss Angie, told me how impressed they are with Andy's parenting skills. They also had a good laugh explaining why Ben's and Henry's folders were so full. Apparently, since Andy doesn't want to bother with the stroller, he doesn't check their folders because he doesn't have any hands free to carry their daily reports and artwork.

After I picked up the boys, we headed to Dr. Neely's for their 15-month check-up. I was anxious to see how much weight they have gained. Henry is now 24 pounds (50%) and Ben is 22.6 pounds (20%). Also, Henry is 31.75" (75%) and Ben is 30.75" (45%). Unfortunately, since Andy was still feeling under the weather, I decided I could handle this appointment by myself. That was a mistake. We spent 45 minutes in the waiting room so by the time we were called to the back, the boys were very unhappy. Plus, ever since Henry was hospitalized in June, he freaks out at the doctor's office and will only calm down if he is in my lap. But 2 hours after we arrived, we were headed home - the last patients to leave. The boys got their first flu shot dose so we will have to go back in a month for the second dose. I carefully scheduled that appointment for 8:50 a.m. on a Saturday so we will have to go straight from Little Gym and Andy will have no choice but to go.


This morning, we got up and went to Little Gym where they had Picture Day. Our class took a class photo and then the photographer had a backdrop set up for individual family photos. We chose to skip this part and go home to get our stuff together for the drive to Waco to see Gee, Pops, Aunt Christi, Uncle Bryan, and Hayley. The boys napped for a little bit in the car but once they woke up, they were hungry so the last 30 minutes of the ride were a little unpleasant. But we made it and then all went to Schmaltz's! Of everything in Waco, the thing I miss the most is Schmaltz's. I won't even eat at Schlotzsky's because it doesn't even come close to Schmaltz's.


When we got back to Gee and Pops' house, we took pictures with some pumpkins that Gee had. It took several shots to get a few with all three children looking the right direction. Then it was naptime. When they woke up, Gee and Pops had a special treat for them - cupcakes! They really enjoyed these, especially Henry. And then it was time to head back to Dallas. We got home just in time to feed the boys, give them a bath, and put them to bed after a very long day. Hopefully they will sleep well.

What Would Emily Post Say?

I think we may have a manners problem with Henry. We were eating dinner tonight - Ben's highchair was next to me and Henry's next to Andy. All of a sudden there is a strange sound and Andy yells "OMG! There's sh*t everywhere! It's even on my arm!" Yes, Henry had a blowout at the dinner table. So Andy got up and started filling the bathtub while the boys finished their dinner (there isn't much that will keep Henry from eating, including sitting in a poopy highchair). When Henry was done, we realized that we had another problem - we can't put him in the bathtub like that because the tub is already full of water. So we had to hose him off in the sink and then Andy gave them both a much-needed bath.

We have had a crazy week. But I say that every week. And next week will just be crazier because I will be in Denver Monday and Tuesday and then in Phoenix Wednesday and Thursday. And we have a big day planned tomorrow. We are going to the Presby NICU/SCN Reunion to show off our healthy big boys to the wonderful doctors and nurses who took such good care of them for the first 6 weeks of their lives. I need to remember to bring my camera since I have gotten so bad about taking pictures lately. So hopefully I'll have some good pics in my next post. But for now, you'll have to settle for some of my old favorites.

Notice of Biting Child

It finally happened. Henry was written up for biting this week - twice! The school sends home a very official "Notice of Biting Child" explaining the incident that I have to sign and send back to school the next day. This happened yesterday and again today. So when I picked them up this afternoon, I asked their teacher about the school's policy regarding biting. Basically, we wanted to know if he would be kicked out of school at the age of 14 months. Fortunately, they do not kick children out of school for biting. Henry's teacher says it is just a phase that some children go through and that he will eventually grow out of it. I hope that will be soon.

Other than that, it has been a pretty uneventful week. So thanks to Suzanne's "tag", I'll spend the rest of tonight's blog telling you all a little more about me:

A: Attached or single? Attached to Andy, my wonderful husband

B: Best friend? My best friend since high school is Ann

C: Cake or pie? Cake with lots of icing

D: Day of choice? Saturday - no work and Monday is not hanging over my head yet!

E: Essential item? A pony tail holder

F: Favorite color? I don't know - orange?

G: Gummy bears or worms? I guess bears although I'm not a big fan of either

H: Hometown? Waco, TX - and no, I'm not a Branch Davidian!

I: Indulgence? Starbucks, Sprinkles cupcakes (especially the Red Velvet ones), and shopping

J: January of July? That's a tough one - the two biggest events of my life happened in these two months - my wedding (January) and the birth of my sons (July) - I guess July because it is warmer

K: Kids? Yes, my double-trouble 14-month-old twins Ben and Henry

L: Life isn't complete without? Family and friends

M: Marriage date? January 15, 2005

N: Number of brothers and sisters? 1 sister

O: Oranges or apples? Apples

P: Phobias and fears? Gotta agree with Suzanne - cockroaches - and it doesn't help that Andy is almost as afraid of them as I am!

Q: Quote? Two things my brain has never been able to retain - jokes and quotes

R: Reason to smile? My two beautiful boys and their SuperDad

S: Season of choice? Spring

T: Tag three people? I don't know who is reading this so I guess the first three who do can consider themselves tagged

U: Unknown fact about me? I have no idea - I'll just stick with my standard "interesting fact" answer even though most of you probably already know this - I have one blue eye and one green eye

V: Vegetable? Zucchini

W: Worst habit? Biting my nails

X: X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound - the only x-rays I've ever had were because something was wrong, but I looked foward to the ultrasounds to see my precious babies growing

Y: Your favorite food? Sushi

Z: Zodiac sign? Gemini

So now you all know a little more about me!

Daycare-itis, Double Ear Infection, and the Stomach Flu

Well it only took less than a week. Ben and Henry have had their first case of "daycare-itis." It started with runny noses over the weekend - Henry even blew bubbles out of his nose at Little Gym. Then on Sunday, Ben woke up from his nap in a pool of vomit. Andy went in to get them when they woke up. First he brought in Henry and then a shirtless Ben. He handed me a clean shirt for Ben and explained about the vomit. I guess he missed the dried vomit in his hair. It took three washes (and a Q-tip to clean it out of his ear) to get rid of the smell. Here's a pic of a vomit-less Ben ready to drive us to the Stride-Rite store for new shoes!

On Monday morning I got a call from their teacher, Miss Maggie, saying that Henry had a low-grade fever. I took some Tylenol up to school and they let him stay. On Tuesday, he had another fever at school, but again they gave him some Tylenol and let him stay. That night, I heard Ben wake up and vomit again. Andy got up and changed his sheet while I put him in the bathtub to wash it out of his hair. Then I rocked him back to sleep and went back to bed. About 30 minutes later, Henry woke up crying. When I went to check on him, he was burning up. So I gave him some Tylenol and rocked him back to sleep.

So I kept them home from school and took them to the pediatrician on Wednesday morning. Dr. Neely, our regular pediatrician, was out of the office this week so we saw Dr. Curtis. My main concern was Henry since he had been hospitalized with pneumonia in June, but I figured as long as we were taking one, we would take both to get checked out. As I suspected, Ben checked out okay - just a little cold. But Henry surprised us with a double ear infection. Poor guy! So she prescribed an antibiotic and sent us home.

We got home, fed the boys, and put them down for a nap. I guess I should mention that Andy had not been feeling well all morning. His stomach was upset and he was wondering what he and Ben had eaten to make them both sick. So anyway, about the time the boys woke up, I started to feel sick to my stomach. I helped Andy give them a bath, but then couldn't even finish getting them dressed. I went to bed and was pretty much down for the count until Thursday night. Thank goodness Andy's mom came over on Thursday to help us take care of the boys. I don't know how we could have done it - by Thursday morning I could barely pick one of them up.

Everyone went back to work or school today even though Henry woke up with fever again during the night. He didn't have a fever this morning so I sent him to school. I finished up with a client meeting around 2:00 and decided to go get the boys early. When we got home at 3:15, I took Henry's temperature and it was 100.4 degrees. I worked from home for a couple of hours while both boys passed out on the living room floor. So it looks like we're not 100% yet, but hopefully we're all on the mend. Here's a pic of Henry helping Daddy play NCAA Football '09 - Go Navy! One of the few benefits of sick babies is lots of cuddles.

The First Day of "School"

Today was Ben and Henry's first day of school. Andy and I both went to drop them off this morning. I wanted to get there early to talk to their teachers, but we got there too early. There teachers do not arrive until 8:00. So we dropped the boys off at 7:15 with very few instructions. Henry cried a little, but it wasn't too traumatic. The teacher who was there was very good about distracting them as we left.

Our plan is for me to drop them off in the morning and Andy to pick them up on his way home each afternoon. However, I wanted to pick them up today so I could meet their teachers and hear how they did today. I also needed to pay their tuition. So when I got there, I took care of the tuition first and then sneaked over to the boys' classroom. I saw them both before they saw me, and they were happily playing. Then Henry looked up and saw me. I expected him to burst into tears like he has been doing on Sundays when we return to the church nursery to get them. But he didn't. In fact, he didn't smile, frown, laugh, or cry. Instead, he determinedly marched over to his cubby and started tugging on our diaper bag. When he got it out of the cubby and onto the floor, he started dragging it to the door. I guess he was ready to go!

Miss Maggie and Miss Angie, the boys' teachers, said they were very good. They were a little fussy in the morning, but otherwise were happy and playful. They only took a 15-minute nap though. We put them to bed a little early tonight. Hopefully they will sleep well. And we will see how tomorrow morning goes now that they know they will be there all day.

I promise pictures from school as soon as I get a new battery for my camera. For now, here are a couple of pics from the weekend of the boys' new favorite place to play. Why do we spend money on toys when all they need to entertain themselves is a basket? They get in it together and rock back and forth - they look like they are crammed into a little boat.