Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a great summer. We did, other than that one very long week. The boys have grown and changed so much this summer and it has been such a blessing to be able to be home for so much time with them. I am going back to work tomorrow, which makes me so sad. I am sure we will all adjust and do fine, but it is still tough to think about going back. You all know that I love what I do, and I really enjoy my students, but nothing compares to being with my sons. We had an especially fun day yesterday! First Reid and Aunt Lys came over to play and visit for a little bit. Then, we went to the Center for Creative Play, with our friend Carol, who was Riley's nurse in the NICU. We also met another mom there, and her daughter, who was in the NICU at the same time as the boys. She was much smaller and more premature than the boys, and had a harder time with medical scares, so it was truly amazing to see how wonderfully she is doing! She is so healthy, and so big and strong. She's truly a miracle! Ross and Riley had a great time playing and exploring while we were there, and they wore themselves out so much that they took a long nap as soon as we got home. Can you believe that one year ago today, my boys came home from the hospital? I remember every second of that day...mostly because I was terrified. Of course, I was overjoyed to have them home and healthy, but I couldn't help but wonder who in the heck thought it was a good idea to leave me alone with two premature infants!! I was so worried that I wouldn't know what to do. Now, I realize, like every other mom in the world, that no one knows what to do! We just make it up as we go along and let our children lead the way. Every day with them reminds me of how lucky and blessed I am...doubly blessed! I added three new pics of the boys being cute, so please check them out. To all of my teacher friends and family....I hope you all have a great school year!

Week from h-e-double-hockeysticks

Hi, everyone! I know it has been a little while since I've posted, and I'd like to say that we've been so busy having fun that I haven't had time, but that is not the case! We are doing just fine, now, but we had a pretty rough week last week. Our entire family was on vacation in Florida, but we couldn't go along because Ross can't be in the heat or get wet because of his helmet, so it didn't make sense to spend the money for airfare, hotel, etc. this summer. We will all go next year, but it just didn't make sense for us this summer. I knew we would miss them terribly, but I had no idea just how hard it was going to get to be on our own. First, Riley got sick and we went to the pediatrician on Monday and he got an antiobiotic, which immediately gave him expolosive diarrhea. Then, on Tuesday night, Ross got sick. So on Wednesday, we went back to the pediatrician and he also got an antiobiotic and, of course, also got the awful diarrhea. Then, on Thursday, that horrible storm knocked out our power and it never came back on until 5 pm SUNDAY! It was so awful to have no air conditioning and no lights, and no fridge or microwave for four days. Of course, we lost all the food in fridge and freezer and I had to use a cooler and get bags of ice each day to keep the milk and their antibiotic cold. The poor little guys were back to eating baby food all week, since it doesn't spoil. To top it all off.....Ross woke up Friday morning covered in dark red spots from head to toe! Thankfully, it was just a reaction to his MMR shot from 10 days before and didn't itch or bother him at all. I posted a couple of pics of him with his spots, which are almost all gone now. You can see from his smile that they didn't make him uncomfortable! I nicknamed him "Sir Gotalotofspots" for the weekend. Needless to say, I was so thrilled to have my family home safely on Friday! They are the only reason we made it through the weekend until the power came back on. The great news is that both boys are doing so well right now! Ross is cruising holding onto to furniture and even got his first pair of shoes! (I posted a couple of pics of that, too.) Riley is trying so hard to pull himself up to stand and is getting stronger every day. He is even starting to climb up onto things. There is a cute pic of Riley laying on the coffee table (Katie, the nanny, is holding him!) and he is leaning over the edge checking out Ross' shoes. They are both getting more teeth, which they sometimes use to bite one another, but we are working on that! Yesterday, Aunt Lys, Uncle Marc, and Reid gave them the most wonderful toy....The Incrediblock! The boys had so much fun and played so hard that they wore themselves out. Ross literally chewed his dinner with his eyes closed! So, we are going to use the rest of our summer to have fun and enjoy ourselves! Hopefully, I will get lots of great pics to share with you! Thanks for checking in!