Catch Up Game

Yet again I am behind in posting. Things have been a little crazy around here lately and when I did try to post I couldn't. It seems that google/blogger have had some troubles as of late. 

So to bring everyone up to date. I did in fact bring Kiley into the ER again on Wednesday morning. She had a really bad coughing spell and was still having troubles breathing after the neb treatment that I gave her. When we got into the ER her O2 sat was 90 and her heart rate was 189 (O2 was low, Heart rate high) This meant she was really working to breathe. They ended up doing a chest xray on her... something that was a lot more traumatic than I thought it would be. I had to strip her fevered body naked, put her on this device that look like it belonged in a torture museum. It was metal and she sat on this little board in the middle of this circle. Then her arms were strapped above her head and her body was encased in plastic. No joke... She just screamed and it made me want to cry. Kara sat through the whole thing in the back of the xray room just snoozing away. The ER was exhausting for her it seemed....

So when they came in to tell me that if Kiley didn't eat very soon they were going to put an IV in her. Uh... after the xray I had had enough. I took that baby and MADE her drink. It took awhile because she had coughing fits in between and she was so tired. But gosh I was not going to endure an IV. It probably would have been more painful for me to watch than for her to get! The respiratory therapist came down later and gave her another neb. We ended up being in the ER for almost 4 hours. Kiley's pediatrician and the ER doctor discussed her case and stated that she was borderline for admission. So they instructed me that if she had any troubles again they were going to admit her and that we shouldn't go in to the ER but straight to the children's hospital. I discussed things a little with the nurse and it is my opinion that they would have just admitted her if the hospital hadn't been so full. But as I thought about it later I decided that wasn't all bad. As long as I knew when to take her in if she got too bad we were ok. And let's face it... I may not be a doctor or a pediatric nurse but I did the "EMT thing" for a few years and I did take at least 1 year of nursing school. I probably knew how to care for my daughter better than some of the other moms out there.

They still want me to do the neb treatments on Kiley every 4 hours. Today I let it slip a little longer but she doesn't seem to be any worse for it. I think that we are finally on the mend. Honestly, this last week she looked awful. Seeing her today it made me realize that taking her in those days was the right thing, that she wasn't right even if they thought she looked 'ok.' Honestly Kiley is the type of baby that even on the brink of struggling for every breath, she will make the effort to smile at you or communicate. It's amazing how much brighter and happier she is now. We took her in to see Dr. L on Thursday because the ER wanted a follow up visit. Her O2 sats were back to 99 and her heart rate was 114. Much better. He told me she was certainly not better but that she was looking much better. 

Abby's therapy went pretty well on Thursday. The therapist took out a few too many things at first and put away the one familiar activity and so for the first few minuets Abby did her typical tornado routine, unable to focus on anything. Finally when Kristen took away a few of the things Abs was able to concentrate and calmed down. I love watching her work with Abby and it has honestly helped me to become a better mom to her. I know better how to communicate with her or direct her when she gets into those modes. Granted I am a mother of three and I don't always have the strength or the time to do therapies with her or give her one on one attention all the time. But we are learning together on this. I asked Kristen what I should do when I go to places where she gets overwhelmed. Because there is no possible way that I could eliminate all of the distractions when we go. She said that it is a good idea to try and work Abby's muscles really well before we go places because it will help organize her. There are also pop tubes that we can bring along in the diaper bag that are really good therapy activities. 

Abs and I have gone on walks quite a bit lately. She is so cute in her bright yellow boots and pom pom stocking hat. She loves to splash in the puddles. Sometimes she will run a bit ahead of me yelling 'faster! faster!" or say "aw-kee snow" or  any other manner of things. It has been fun, all except when she gets tired and makes me carry her the last few blocks. She's only 24 pounds but man... that gets heavy after awhile! I can't wait to do more walks as the weather improves. I only wish I could have taken a few pictures because she was so cute.

Well I think Tom left me to go to bed. I hope that I caught everyone up to date a little. Tom's mom came up Wednesday and has been helping out with Abby, the babies and the laundry. I also got to go do a little shopping and had a little fun in Hobby Lobby :) I love that store too much.

Night!

RSV Day 2

Right now I'm holding Kiley in the recliner as she finishes off the last bit of her neb treatment. It was quite the ordeal to get the machine but this morning I discovered how glad I am that I got it. She's not having a very good morning. I've been up since 6:30 trying to help her get comfortable. It wasn't until about 8-8:30 that she was starting to have troubles breathing again  so we dug our friend Neb the Dinosaur mask out and I got her all hooked up. Most of the time she falls asleep before the treatment ends which makes me believe that it opens up her airways enough for her to get some sleep. Poor baby... it's Wednesday... we have to be about done with this!



Getting the neb machine was a lot of work. I don't know WHY I thought Walmart would have them. I just assumed that 'Hey I've got this prescription thing, I'll just walk right in and get it!" Uh huh... right. They had the medicine that I put INTO the neb. So I had to browse around the store for 20 minuets until they were done filling it. Now... I'm sure it takes some time to get those prescriptions filled, but my question is... do they just tell you 20 minuets to make you browse around and buy more stuff? Because I can't think of a time where I didn't buy AT LEAST one more thing. Hmmm that might have to be a goal of mine next time. Of course when you get out rarely for shopping, sometime pharmacy runs are all I get.

But than I had to drive all the way across town and pick up the neb at a home medical store. Oh my goodness... I swear it is the equivalent to buying a card. They want this and this and this and you need to sign this form and this other form... then they give you a 'test drive' to show you how it works. Oh did I mention there is MORE paperwork? Good grief. An hour later I walked out of THAT store.

If you had asked me last night how I thought she was doing I would have told you that she was doing pretty good, maybe even starting to get better. I'm keeping an eye on her right now though to see if I need to call the clinic and have her seen. It's so hard to know... they are so miserable but it's trying to find that line between being miserable and getting bad. Kara started running a temp last night but after some Tylenol seemed to be doing better. Of course this stuff peaks at 3-5 days so we'll see here in the next day or so what she is looking like. So sick babies might be in my forecast for awhile. :(

Well my phone is ringing ... I had better go grab it since I think Tom slept through the ringer. I hope Kiley starts feeling better!

RSV rsv RSV rsv RSV

Kara has decided that Mommy's hand tastes delicious, her little hands have a death grip around my wrist and she's happily munching away. Me? I'd rather be in bed since we were up most of the night but that is what I get for having twins! Thankfully she hasn't caught this nasty RSV bug or at least if she did it hasn't been very bad. Her poor sister Kiley is having a rougher time with it.

Last night I really debated if I should take her in. "Were those retractions I just saw?", "Does she seem to be breathing really fast?", "Oh my gosh she looks awful." I posted a video up on Facebook because sometimes it's just nice to get an outsider's opinion, someone who isn't consumed with panicked mommy syndrome (I made that up...) After a few people agreed with me I decided I was going to take her in and get her checked out. I wanted to make sure she was ok.

Of course she cried the entire way there. And her cry sounds awful so it freaked me out a little....The ER staff was wonderful. They treated me so well and never once made me feel stupid for bringing her in. When they we were getting her first set of vitals done Kiley looked up at the guy and just smiiiiiiled. My first thought was "OH great... now they'll think I was crazy, you look fine!" Her O2 sat was still good and so that at least was reasurring.

They literally got me back into a room and Kiley was evaluated in less than 5 minuets. The Dr was in before the nurse could even finish evaluating her! They hooked her up to some monitors, took her temp (she was running a fever) and then they checked her thoroughly. He did see the retractions and heard some wheezing. After a bit they decided she was not in respiratory distress but just feeling pretty lousy. They gave her more Tylenol/Motrine and had the respiratory therapist come down and give her a neb treatment. They monitored us for another hour or so. He decided that he was comfortable enough to send me home but that RSV can be very strange. One minuet they are doing awful, the next they look ok... then they can get really bad really fast. He said it is an hour to hour thing. If she started getting worse at all he told me to bring her right back in. Days 3-5 (where they think she is) are the worst, it seems to peak around then. If we can get past Wednesday she will be through the worst of it. I guess it also hangs out in the lungs for a loooong time, so she can have a cough, runny nose etc for 2 more weeks...fuuun....

So now I need to get the neb treatments sometime today (pharmacies just aren't open at 1am)... The mask is pretty funny, I'll get a picture of it later. The things they do for kids now a days lol. The nebs don't TREAT the RSV, they just make her a little more comfortable because it is a little easier to breathe.

So... here's a laughable point of my night last night: I was driving home in the rain, in the dark, having just spent 3 hours in the ER with a Kiley all hooked up to monitors. I start hearing this sound that to me is stridor. I listen again. Oh gosh that is stridor. I freaked out because I thought she was going into respiratory distress! I pulled off the interstate, flipped on the dome light, crawled into the backseat, started unzipping her... I mean all manner of things are going through my head. Should I call 911? Where am I? Will they be able to find us? Should I just head back to the hospital? I need to call Tom....then I heard it... it was the windshield wiper on the back window. Seriously. I was shaking I was so scared and it turned out to be the windshield wiper. It's funny now... and I laughed at myself a little later... .but it had been a long night and there is nothing worse than watching your baby struggle to breathe. So I don't blame myself for panicking like that... but wow what a night.

I feel like there is so much more I need to write. We also did Abby's therapy last night before all of this happened. The play therapist is thrilled with the progress Abs is making. We have a few things still to work on but we are trying hard! It's not a quick fix, a lot of work is involved. Well speaking of Abby she is upset that I haven't yet gotten her out of her crib. Kara is upset because she doesn't want to be in the bouncy... and so my day begins....

A game of catch up

There is nothing sweeter than two sleeping babies. Honestly peeking over the side of the bassinet I could just stare at them for hours... and then watch all of my sleep vanish like a puff of smoke.

I'm finally feeling slightly better now. I had a headache most of the day and just general weakness but nothing like before. If I do too much I wear out (which makes Abby's therapy activities hard!) I wasn't with the girls as much today because I went to a friend of mine's wedding and did some photo work for her. It was fun and great experience for me. Weddings are nice but honestly a lot of work! I still think I enjoy babies and children the most! I'll be excited to try out senior pictures this summer/spring.

Let's see what have the girl's been up to lately. Kiley has a nasty cough right now that I (the mother hawk that I am) am keeping a close eye on it. She was so miserable tonight and it took me THREE times of rocking, screaming, pacifier, feeding... you name it to get her to go to sleep and stay asleep. Now that she is all snuggled up with Kara she seems to be doing pretty good. The other night (or should I say morning) I woke up to her cooing... not fussing... not crying... but her doing this cute little version of "heeeeeey, heeeeeey" it made me laugh and it was a nice change of the usual routine. She has really gotten vocal and loves to talk. I even made her laugh the other day! An actual little giggle. (so cute!)

Kara is ever the vocal baby even though Kiley is steadily catching up with her. Most of the dark baby fuzz is gone. For a moment I thought the little black hairs in the bassinet were from a cat... then I realized that we don't have a cat... it's all the little hair that has been rubbed out :o( I wouldn't be surprised if it comes back in blonde... after all if one blonde Abby is this much fun... how much more fun will three blondes be? (oh my)

Both girls have had a surprising amount of blowouts lately. I blame the cheap generic type brand of diapers that we were trying to use up... which I'm not sure why we were because we have 3 boxes of 1's left as it is of the Swaddlers. So why mess with the generics? After all... it's not like I need MORE laundry. I'm hoping I can finally catch up with that now that I'm starting to feel better. This week is supposed to be Spring Break for us which will be great considering I need this time to get caught up on things. Crazy online classes!!!

A friend of mine had heard rumors that I had dropped out of school... so if you are confused here it is: I HAVE NOT dropped out of school. I'm just taking a break from the nursing curriculum/clinicals until next spring. I am working towards my Bachelors in Nursing.... and it is still plenty of work!

Abby and I made oatmeal play dough the other day... it was ... interesting. She enjoyed it for a little while at least. Nap times have been getting exponentially harder lately. Yesterday I put her down for her nap at 12, right after Abby's Flying School on Sesame Street... tucked her in, gave her a bottle, duck taped her diaper (yes it's necessary still) put her TWO singing glow worms next to her, gave her a kiss, told her to take a nap.... An hour later I can still hear her talking and singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.... hump... so I go back downstairs, tuck her in and then explain that she NEEDS to take a nap... silly girl!! If she doesn't get her naps she is so hard to deal with!!! Hopefully this phase won't last too long.

Abs is getting really good at drawing on her little magnet, pen pad thing. She actually was trying to draw a puppy last night and I knew what her pen was trying to make. She can now do circles and she does very well at coloring in the lines. It is fun to watch even if it means that I have to draw a cow, dog, elephant, flower or cat over and over again. The fish was a nice change.... She still really trips over things. Some days I swear that if a bright red, flashing doll were laying on the floor, she would still miss it. I only mention this because we had just cleaned the living room so there were only two thing laying on the living room floor: Kiley & Kara. Abs managed to snag them both. Honestly, she just didn't realize they were there. Even if they were screaming like crazy!

I still feel like I haven't slept. The girls are very good at making sure at least one of them is up at all times to catch me off guard. And with that in mind... all three of my children are sleeping... It's time for bed!!!

Sensory Processing Disorder and our House

First of all let me say, that I doubt that I've ever been more proud of Abby.

I know I touched a little on what we were starting to do these last few weeks but I thought I would write a little more in detail so that I could try and help people understand it a little better. First of all, I had never heard of this 'disorder' until a week ago. It's amazing what you learn... Here is a little information that I found fascinating if you are interested:

Sensory processing (sometimes called "sensory integration" or SI) is a term that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. Whether you are biting into a hamburger, riding a bicycle, or reading a book, your successful completion of the activity requires processing sensation or "sensory integration."


Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD, formerly known as "sensory integration dysfunction") is a condition that exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate responses. A person with SPD finds it difficult to process and act upon information received through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the disorder is not treated effectively.


Symptoms of SPD, like those of most disorders, occur within a broad spectrum of severity. While most of us have occasional difficulties processing sensory information, for children and adults with SPD, these difficulties are chronic, and they disrupt everyday life.


Most children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) are just as intelligent as their peers. Many are intellectually gifted. Their brains are simply wired differently. They need to be taught in ways that are adapted to how they process information, and they need leisure activities that suit their own sensory processing needs.


Another little kid wrote that this is what the disorder feels like: 


"Imagine driving a car that isn't working well. When you step on the gas the car sometimes lurches forward and sometimes doesn't respond. When you blow the horn it sounds blaring. The brakes sometimes slow the car, but not always. The blinkers work occasionally, the steering is erratic, and the speedometer is inaccurate. You are engaged in a constant struggle to keep the car on the road, and it is difficult to concentrate on anything else." 


I read this the other night and just cried... because I feel like this is something Abby has been dealing with since she was born. Can you imagine feeling like that all the time? They say that kids with this disorder often have EATING problems AND SLEEPING ISSUES when they are babies.... hmmm sounds familiar. These kids also tend to be very smart and have HIGH VOCABULARIES....


No wonder Abby sometimes feels out of control! I also learned that it is best if SPD is caught before the age of 7 because the nervous system is still malleable before than and before it affects school and friendships (because it does! These kids often get labeled ADHD and are put on meds even though the disorder is completely different) 


So this is what we are working on in Occupational Therapy every week:

Heavy work activities (i.e., proprioceptive input) are used for children with sensory processing difficulties to help increase attention, decrease defensiveness,  and modulate arousal.

If they are seeking out excessive proprioceptive input, they are looking for a way to calm and organize their nervous system. They may seem disruptive, full of excessive energy, or even unsafe. These are the crashers, jumpers, movers, and shakers! (Sound like Abby?)These are the children we ABSOLUTELY want to target with heavy work activities. It WILL make a difference in them!

So we learned a few more activities and I learned that I need to do a high work load activity every couple of hours to help her. Seriously... her occupational therapy is more of a workout than any 'work out program' I see a HUGE improvement with her, she follows directions, she isn't running around destroying my house, climbing on things, crashing into things, breaking things, yelling, screaming... 

I'm so excited that we finally are going to be able to help her! This will be a tough journey as most kids don't grow out of this. My biggest concern is what school will be like for her. But we will cross that bridge when we get there. For now we continue to do Play Therapy on Mondays and Occupational Therapy on Thursdays. Originally I was afraid of saying anything about all of this but I've decided there is nothing to be ashamed about and I don't care what people think. I'm getting my baby some much needed help and she is most important.

After all... I love her so much and I'm so proud of her...

Exhausted

March 1st: 4 Book Trailers Due: including pictures, audio, narration AND a book review due for each book including Lexile levels ... etc

March 5th: (you don't have to read this whole bit)

For this assignment, you will need to create a fiction or non-fiction movie that is engaging to supplement a academic lesson. You will need to buy a webkinz animal at your local store, register, and navigate to WebKinz studio. See the attached tutorial Powerpoint before getting started.
Your movie should use at least 11 of the 15 scenes, have an emotional hook, use the supplied music and be fun to watch.
You will submit to the dropbox a word or rtf document with an explanation of how you will be using this with  students. Also, attach the .wmv movie created using Windows Media Encoder of the movie. Having sound is better, but if you cannot get sound, that is okay. 
This assignment does involve buying a webkinz pet OR borrowing someone's account. Multiple people can share an account, just remember to have your movie saved as a .wmv file using windows media encoder before deleting your story. If you ask around, you may find an elementary school student willing to loan you their account. 
Assessment: Webkinz movie has a plot that supports something you would teach elementary students. File is correctly saved as .wmv, plays in Windows Media Player and is uploaded to the dropbox. 


FOUR DAYS... My professor gave me FOUR DAYS between large assignments! I'm sorry if you read through that... I didn't mean to stress you out too. I'm just sick, and exhausted and now I have to try and figure out this latest insane homework assignment for a class I despise.


PLUS


Abby sick x1 week now
Kiley: sick 2 days
Kara: sick 1 day
MYSELF: SICK SINCE SUNDAY




I'm having a hard week. I feel like crawling into bed, throwing the covers over my head and crying myself to sleep. At least until K or K wake up 


Time to get back to homework....

Sickies :(

Well... K&K are sleeping, Abby is playing with her toys and I'm lounging on the couch. Still feeling a little under the weather. Whatever this bug is it hit me hard! No fever and no puking so for that I should be thankful. I just have the general weak, achy, sore throat type. That is hard enough with 3 kids!

Cute Abby Story:
Abby was holding her play camera and held it up to her face. She said "Cheeese, Look at mommy!" Tom and I laughed and laughed. She has picked up on me fast!

So the big goings on around here... at least to me is the start up of my new hobby.... photography. Wow it has taken off fast! I was reading in my devotional the other week about how God encourages us to use our talents... and I just kept feeling this nudge either from people I know and love or just that feeling that I should be doing it more. I really really love capturing those smiles and creating something beautiful for parents. I just remember how disappointed I was in the photos of Abby that I had done at JC Pennies. The experience was awful, they didn't care... at all. And there was nothing special about it. I wanted pictures that people would go "wow... your daughter is beautiful!" The other problem is that it was so expensive! They suck you in with the "free sitting fee" then charge you per outfit, per package... then if you want anything special done with the photos they charge you for the 'premium package..." by the time we walked out of there I had spent 300 dollars and gotten a mediocre experience.

That is why I charge $50 for infant sessions. The parent gets to keep the cd of the images and order whatever they want. Plus... I think I do a few more original/artsy/creative shots... thats my opinion though. I want something people can be happy and proud of! It's not about me... it's about their baby... and remembering how special that time was.

Ok I'll get off of that... the whole thing has just been on my mind a lot!! I'm just soooo excited by it! It helps get me through the day sometimes when things are tough and the homework is crazy and I'm exhausted and worn out.

Kiley and Kara are talking up a storm now! They have both had blow outs in the last 24 hours. (I'm so happy Tom has been around to help!) The girls keep me busy but I'm falling more and more in love with them ... if that is possible. They try so hard to sit up on their own now and we have even tried them out a little in the rainforest bouncer. Abby is getting better and better about being gentle with them and playing with them. Her poor nose is still running like crazy and she just looks miserable sometimes. I hope that she gets over this bug soon!

Well I have some things I need to get done around the house, though in general I'm taking it easy. When the body says slow down, sometimes thats exactly what you need to do!

It's still cold outside...

Wow I know... long time no write. Things have just been busy busy busy around here. The more homework I have the less I feel like coming on here and thinking about how I should put the day down in words. Plus by the time I get K&K into bed there usually isn't much energy for anything else.

Abby hasn't been feeling very well these last few days. Her nose is running like crazy and tonight I could hear her coughing downstairs in her room. I hope she doesn't get too sick. Poor baby. I was just putting Kara back to sleep and she looked up at me and smiled as if to say "You can't go to bed yet mom!" but her little eyes were too heavy and she couldn't help but go back to sleep. Kiley is OUT. She was just screaming earlier (along with Kara) I think she wore herself out. I hate the wild hours. From about 6pm-10pm they are just Craaaaaaanky. Nothing makes them happy, it's hard but we make it through it. My sister is here tonight and I love having her over. I feel bad that tonight all we got to do was hold crying babies... but maybe tomorrow we can do something fun.

Ok so what are the girls up to:

Abby's corner:

Abs is busy busy as usual. We are actually going to see an Occupational Therapist (OT) Kristen. They think that she might have a harder time with her sensory processing. It probably stems back from all of the issues we had with her reflux and the aspirating and how much pain she was in from all of that. For you and I if we got hurt we have certain ways we deal with that pain. Abby on the other hand will do things like pull on her hair (or pull it out), grind her teeth or run into things. Something about the pressure helping her pain. We are just trying to redirect her from doing that. They said it also helps her to do things using her muscles. She had a great time playing in the 'gym' with Kristen. She loved lugging around these weighted balls. One weighed 2lbs and the other weighed 6! She carried them like it was no problem. (Now remember she only weighs 24lbs herself) Most kids wouldn't enjoy carrying around a 6lb ball and playing with it... for 20 minuets.  She really did a great job.

We will probably continue to do this for 8 weeks. By the end of those 8 weeks I should have plenty of activities that I can do with her at home to try and redirect her behavior into a more positive manner. We went to Walmart to buy a few of our own weighted balls that she could play with (wow they are hard to find). I asked one of the employees if what was on the shelf was all they had. He said that yes that was all they had for weighted balls but that that they also had these special dumbells (sp?). I said that they wouldn't work because the balls were actually for her. He gave me the strangest look! I bet he was wondering why I was putting my 2 year old on a weight lifting program!! :o) 

Kiley's corner:
She is starting to make more and more noises. She still has the more laid back personality and enjoys being held. Her favorite afternoon past time is taking a nap (which mom loves). She is getting stronger and can lift her head up for longer periods. The lump/bump on the back of her head is still really pronounced in my opinion. I think I will bring it up at her next appointment to make sure that this is ok....

Kara's corner:
Kara is a talker, and a smiler, and a really loud screamer. (sounds a bit like baby Abby) She is REALLY strong and is rolling all over. She tips over constantly when I put her on her stomach. It's as if she says "HAH! So much for this tummy time!" She is also a cat napper which is completely opposite of Kiley. Nap, Awake, Nap, Awake... yeessh! Makes it hard to get anything done....

Well my battery is dying and I'm thinking it's time for sleep. Hopefully I'll be back sonner next time! I need more pictures of Abby... but she's just so darn fast! And being sick doesnt make for a happy picture.... Hopefully soon...

Roar

I got up early to do homework so I know I really shouldn't be writing on here... but I wanted to jot down a few of the things that happened yesterday while I had the chance. (aka it's quite in here)

Our neighbor E invited me to a Bible study yesterday morning. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go as the thought of a Bible study with 3 young children seemed a bit overwhelming. But I decided to give it a go and if it didn't work out we just wouldn't go back. E actually came and picked us up in her van (somehow we got all 5 kids into it- since all of them were in carseats) The lady's house was only about a mile away so it wasn't far. There was another little mom there with her little boy who was 18 months old. He was a little more shy and I think Abby was a bit overwhelming for him at first. It was really nice that she had someone her age there to play with though! She is also expecting at the end of August so between E's 2 boys and baby girl and my Abby and 2 babies there were 7 young children there. It was a hectic Bible study but honestly... there aren't many that are willing to allow your children to be in and amongst you. Which brings to question... why not? Now obviously we didn't get as many chances to 'dig deep' but maybe we should be having our children watching us meet with people over the Bible more often? Just a thought...

K&K are still really fussy. It took me almost 30 minuets to do a 10 question quiz yesterday. It was really frustrating!!!! Not to mention that I was sorely sleep deprived yesterday. I couldn't sleep during Abby's nap because A) Babies were up and B) I had a mountain of homework to tackle. (One of my classes is trying to kill me, I'm sure of it!)

Later though Abby must have sensed that I was dragging. I put the babies in the nursery and just laid down on the couch. She thought we were playing a 'ni night' game. So we laid on the couch, she grabbed a blanket and we watched a few 'toons' while she drew 'preeties' on her little magnet board thing (can't think of the name) She managed to do this for almost 45 minuets! Never in the history of Abby has this happened before. I'm so thankful she did this because even if I couldn't sleep I really needed that time to just lay down.

Ok I need to get back to homework :( Tom's mom is coming up today. She is going to watch the twins while Abby is at the doctor's office tomorrow with me. Hope she doesn't mind my messy house! It's really really really low on the priority list right now.

Her lion needed to lay next to K&K. We picked that up for her the other day at Hobby Lobby. Since I was unable to get her anything for VDay I thought this was perfect! It is a pretty cute Lion.

Night Time Musings

What a whirlwind of a week it has been. I'm sitting in the recliner holding Kara and avoiding more homework that feels like it is just piling up. I did manage to complete two of my quizzes tonight, one amidst Kara's crazy screams... but I have one quiz due tomorrow, an assignment from last week due Friday, a test in another class... and a few discussion topics, readings and other things to do....

Where do I find the time... I ask myself that a lot. I'm just trying to survive this crazy semester... just trying to get through it.

On another positive note... I've found one more thing to do other than my homework. Photography. It is something that I've been dabbling in for awhile and I'm so excited to be getting more involved in it. A few people have asked me to do photos for them and I'm so excited by this! You may wonder if I'm crazy for taking up 'one more thing.' But it is something I need... it is a stress reliever, it makes me happy and I really just enjoy it. In the end if I 'fail' at this I will at least gain many beautiful pictures of my girls.

So what have we been up to... We drove down to Tom's parent's place this weekend and had a wonderful time visiting. I don't believe we had been down there since Christmas! Abby loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa D and playing with them. She actually does very well down there now and while she leaves many little 'reminders' of her being there... at least she hasn't destroyed their house completely! It is always fun to go down there. It was a nice change of scenery and just felt like a mini 'vacation' (which we could all use!)

While we were at church she hurt her arm and this made having fun a little harder. We had it looked at by the doctor today when she got her stitches out and the Dr thought it was 'nursemaid's elbow' where the joint gets dislocated. This is the 4th time she has hurt her arm like this and this last time it took 24 hours for her to use it again. Poor baby. She did very well getting her stitches out though and it was quick, easy and painless. (Apparently she had taken one out already because there was only one left in when we got there...

How have K&K been? *sigh* Hard. It's just been that type of week...

I've hardly slept the last two nights. The girls are waking up constantly and I can hardly keep them asleep. On top of this at night they have had screaming fits where I can hardly calm them down. I think the Prevacid is losing it's effectiveness. After some research I learned that the form the Prevacid is in for the girls only has a short shelf life. Therefore... screaming...angry babies=new medication needed. Hopefully Tom can grab a new set for them. In a way it's a little funny... here I had started to think: "Maybe we didn't need the medications? Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with them." or "Maybe the reflux wasn't that bad and I was just tired since they were so young..."

HAH. If anyone want's to experience a TRUE reflux 'attack' come by my house at around 7pm-9pm and watch... you will never want to do it again. They scream, and scream and scream... nothing works, you can feed them ,change them , cuddle them, put them in swings, give them a bath.. nothing... works. And by the end you are so sleep deprived, so frazzled that you can hardly stand it. It's not 'crying' or 'fussing' it is Angry blood curdling screams that just grind on you... for hours.


Well I should try and look over a few more things of homework... or go to bed which sounds a lot better. I hope tonight goes better than the last!

Something I think about a lot:

Being a mother is a job that is more frustrating, more exhausting, more difficult and more rewarding than I ever dreamed it could be...